Prevalence of depression and anxiety among IIUM pre-clinical medical students during COVID 19 pandemic

Given the tough nature of studying medicine, medical students are at higher risk of developing mental health-related issues such as depression and anxiety than the general public. The worries about what the future holds, lack of social interactions due to shifting towards online learning, and being confined inside the house for a long period of time due to government-imposed lockdown, might negatively affect medical students’ state of mind. This study was done to determine the prevalence of depression and anxiety among International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) preclinical medical students during COVID-19. A cross sectional study involving Year 1 (n=77) and Year 2 (n=81) medical students of IIUM was conducted from July till August 2020, and they were recruited to answer a self-administered online survey. This study was done in accordance with terms stipulated by the institutional ethical committee (Research ID: 735). The Generalized Anxiety Disorders Scale (GAD-7) and Well Being Index (WHO-5) scores were used to assess the level of anxiety and depression among the students respectively. The data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26 (IBM, New York). From 158 respondents, 27.8% of the students experienced depression, while 86.7% of the students flagged symptoms of anxiety. In accordance with this outcome, the concern about their physical well-being, social relationship and ffectiveness of online learning during this pandemic crisis are among the factors that might contribute to the increase of depression and anxiety among the students. This study has concluded that IIUM medical students showed an increased risk of suffering from depression and anxiety during COVID-19 era. It is highly suggested that proper interventions such as university support group online gathering, interactive online learning and gamification, and promotion of online counselling be administered in order to preserve good mental health of medical students during this pandemi

Physical health of preclinical medical students during covid-19

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several preventive measures have been put in place including movement restriction and closure of non-essential services in Malaysia including educational premises and shifting towards online learning. Physical inactivity may impact medical students’ quality of life, particularly their physical and mental health, as both are especially influenced by doing physical activity. This study aimed to assess the physical health of medical students during the pandemic. This study has been approved by the institutional research committee (Research ID: 735). All Year 1 and Year 2 International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) medical students were invited to participate in this cross-sectional study. Participants were asked to complete an online, self-administered abbreviated World Health Organisation Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire from July until August 2021. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26 (IBM, New York). We received 158 responses, consisting of 77 Year 1 and 81 Year 2 students. All participants were undertaking online remote learning at the time of study. The mean score for overall quality of life was 14.58 (3.23) whereas the physical health domain mean score was 14.18 (2.48). We found that the requirement for medical treatment scored the highest 17.70 (3.42) whereas work capacity scored the lowest 12.25 (3.95). There was no significant difference in the scores between 14.50 (2.56) and 13.87 (2.37) for Year 1 and Year 2 students in the individual items (p=0.107- 0.862). We concluded that despite the nationwide lockdown, the medical students in IIUM reported acceptable-good quality of life and physical health. This could be due to their adaptation to the new norms by applying the right coping strategy. Future study to re-assess their quality of life is due should the lockdown are further extended or tightened

Association of barriers of learning during COVID-19 pandemic with mental health

On March 11, 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) declared that COVID-19 has become a pandemic. Therefore, online learning (OL) has replaced face-to-face teaching and learning sessions in many schools and colleges. This has forced the students to adapt to a new environment and overcome some barriers during the OL. However, the increase in suicidal rate among students is a disturbing phenomenon due to mental vulnerability experienced during the current worldwide situation. This study was done to investigate the association between barriers of learning during Covid-19 with mental well-being among International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) pre-clinical medical students. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the Year 1 (n=77) and Year 2 (n=81) medical students of IIUM, from July until August 2021. They were recruited to answer self-administered online questionnaires based on 5 remote learning barriers (inadequate interaction with classmates and teachers, lack of peer support and confidence to handle online tasks, and difficulty in applying taught concepts). The survey includes Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD-5) and Well Being Index (WHO5) to assess mental well-being and was approved by the institutional ethical committee (Research ID: 735). The results were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26 (IBM, New York). The prevalence of depression and anxiety among medical students were 27.8% and 86.7% respectively. More than half of the respondents agreed with all learning barriers listed. However, the difficulty in applying taught concepts is the only significant barrier associated with depression (p<0.05). In conclusion, although only one item was identified as significant, it was an undeniable factor. Corrective measures must be taken to minimize it as continuous exposure may deteriorate mental health among medical students. Careful evaluation is required in order to ensure the quality of education remains upheld to its highest standards without jeopardizing the students’ psychological well-being

Association between sleep quality and mental health among IIUM medical students during COVID-19

Medical students usually sacrifice their sleep to adjust to their workloads. It is worth noting the importance of a good night's sleep to ensure the body and mind's optimum performance. However, depriving oneself of much-needed sleep in exchange for productivity has been shown to have deleterious consequences on the students' physical health and their state of mind. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between sleep quality and mental health among International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) medical students in the COVID-19 era. A cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2021 until August 2021 in IIUM and all year 1 and year 2 medical students were invited to participate. A total of 158 students responded, consisting of 77 first-year and 81 second-year medical students. The survey was distributed to assess the sleep quality using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the mental health status was measured using WHO-Five Well Being Index (WHO-5) for the depression level and the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) for the anxiety level. The association between sleep quality and mental health was tested using Pearson's chi-square test and Fisher's Exact test. The findings showed a significant association between sleep quality and the mental health of medical students. A higher proportion of participants (86.4%) with depressive symptoms had poor sleep quality. Similarly, 81.8% of participants with anxiety symptoms had poor sleep quality. There was significant association between sleep quality and depression and/or anxiety (p<0.001). This study has shown a significant association between sleep quality and mental health status among IIUM medical students. It is highly recommended that the university provide interventions including advertising good sleep hygiene and coping mechanisms to support students' mental health in this COVID-19 era

Quality of life among medical students during Covid-19 pandemic

Medicine has a well-known reputation for being among the toughest courses to enrol in once a student step into college or university. Given the mounting pressure to excel in a high stake learning environment, undeniably their quality of life could be affected. With the added challenge of navigating online learning during a pandemic, the students’ well-being has become an issue of great concern. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the quality of life among preclinical medical students of International Islamic University Malaysia during COVID-19. We conducted an observational cross-sectional study involving 77 Year 1 and 81 Year 2 IIUM medical students to answer a self-administered online survey. We used the Abbreviated World Health Organisation Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire to assess the students’ quality of life. We analysed the data using IBM SPSS Statistics 26 (IBM, New York). This study lasted from July till August 2021 under the approval of the institutional research committee (Research ID: 735). From this study, the mean score for overall quality of life was 14.58 (3.23), with no significant difference between Year 1 and Year 2 students (p=0.216). The average score across all four domains ranged between 12.19 (2.53) and 15.3 (2.43), indicating that they had a positive outlook on their well-being. Psychological health scored the lowest whereas environmental health was the highest. Looking into the individual items, the ability to concentrate scored the lowest [10.68 (2.73)]. We concluded that IIUM medical students reported good quality of life even at the height of the pandemic. This finding is likely due to the practice of adequate coping skills among the students to survive learning under lockdown. Nevertheless, we should pay due attention to some parameters, especially their psychological health i.e., focus and concentration, and intervene early to prevent further decline in quality of life

Association of mental health status with quality of life among medical students in IIUM during covid-19

The existence of COVID 19 has significantly changed humans daily life in this world. The new norm of living in this pandemic has also led to a different approach on managing quality of life. With the current method of online teaching and learning, medical students may encounter a variety of stressors such as heavy workload, stressful examination and also inadequate learning environment which may influence their mental health. This study is conducted to investigate the association of mental health status with quality of life among medical students in International Islamic University Malaysia (during the pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted online among 158 medical students of Year 1 and Year 2 between July and August 2021. This survey used validated questionnaires to assess depression (WHO 5 anxiety (GAD 5 and Quality of Life BREF (WHOQOL BREF) WHOQOL BREF measures five domains: overall quality of life (physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environmental quality of life. The result was analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. The prevalence rates of anxiety and depression-related symptoms were 27.8% and 86.7% respectively with more students developing anxiety as compared to depression. The proportion of students with anxiety was higher than depression in both Year 1 (n=67) and Year 2 (n=70) students. Students with anxiety and depression symptoms had a significantly poorer overall QOL score (p<0.001) compared to students without mental health problems. Both categories of students were associated with lower physical, psychological and environmental domain scores (p<0.05). In conclusion, the quality of life of medical students are significantly affected by the presence of anxiety and depression. Progressive strategies need to be implemented to maintain good mental health care among medical students in IIUM as it will improve their quality of life during Covid-19

Poor sleep quality among IIUM medical students; a cross-sectional study

Good quality sleep plays an integral role to ensure optimal physical as well as mental health, especially among medical students. Given the surge in COVID-19 cases, with the closure of universities around the globe, students are obliged to adapt to online learning which poses new sets of challenges that may negatively impact their quality of sleep. This study aimed to evaluate sleep quality among preclinical medical students of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted an observational, cross-sectional study involving 158 Year 1 and Year 2 medical students of IIUM. The study protocol was approved by the institution research committee (Research ID: 735). We assessed their sleep quality over the past one month using an online self-administered Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire. We analysed the data using IBM SPSS Statistics 26 (IBM, New York). In general, the average global PSQI score was 8.08 (3.59). Almost three- quarters of the subjects (n=117) experienced poor sleep quality (PSQI global score >5). Amongst all PSQI components, sleep latency scored the highest mean of 2.37 (1.99). Additionally, there was no significant difference in sleep quality between Year 1 and Year 2 medical students (p=0.273). Subjects with poor sleep are prone to negative psychological effects that are related to the lockdown restriction during the pandemic. Further decline in sleep quality can lead to unhealthy practices such as unhealthy diet and nutrition and sedentary lifestyle. Based on our study, there was a significant proportion of IIUM preclinical medical students with poor sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is crucial to further investigate the factors contributing to their poor sleep quality and introduce measures to rectify the problem. Especially, as future healthcare providers should advocate on healthy lifestyles, inclusive of good sleep quality