Abstract
Medical education is perceived as being stressful, and a high level of
stress may have a negative effect on cognitive functioning and learning
of students in a medical school. This cross-sectional study was
conducted to determine the prevalence of stress among medical students
and to observe an association between the levels of stress and their
academic performance, including the sources of their stress. All the
medical students from year one to year five levels from the College of
Medicine, King Saud University, were enrolled in the study. The study
was conducted using Kessler10 psychological distress (K10) inventory,
which measures the level of stress according to none, mild, moderate,
and severe categories. The prevalence of stress was measured and
compared with the five study variables, such as gender, academic year,
academic grades, regularity to course attendance, and perceived
physical problems. The response rate among the study subjects was 87%
(n=892). The total prevalence of stress was 63%, and the prevalence of
severe stress was 25%. The prevalence of stress was higher (p<0.5)
among females (75.7%) than among males (57%) (odds ratio=2.3,
χ2=27.2, p<0.0001). The stress significantly decreased as the
year of study increased, except for the final year. The study
variables, including being female (p<0.0001), year of study
(p<0.001), and presence of perceived physical problems
(p<0.0001), were found as independent significant risk factors for
the outcome variables of stress. Students' grade point average
(academic score) or regularity to attend classes was not significantly
associated with the stress level. The prevalence of stress was higher
during the initial three years of study and among the female students.
Physical problems are associated with high stress levels. Preventive
mental health services, therefore, could be made an integral part of
routine clinical services for medical students, especially in the
initial academic years, to prevent such occurrence.