Association of Academic Stress, Acne Symptoms and Other Physical Symptoms in Medical Students of King Khalid University

Abstract

Academic stress has varied effects on medical student life due to multiple factors, like study load, competition, frequent assessment, social pressure, etc. The authors of this paper conducted research to find the academic stress level and its sequel over acne and other physical symptoms on the medical students of King Khalid University (KKU), Saudi Arabia. A total of 168 participant responses were analyzed. Data collection was performed using a self-administered online questionnaire through the university website portal. The study tool was comprised of four sections: demographic characteristics, academic stress, acne symptoms, and other physical symptoms. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. A high proportion of females (88.7%) participated in the study. Upon categorization of overall academic stress, it was found that a majority of the medical students were moderately stressed (58.34%). The response on the academic stress scale revealed that exams are the major cause of stress among students. The Mean ± SD of academic stress, acne symptoms, and physical symptoms differ significantly at <0.01 level of significance. Overall academic stress showed a significant positive association with acne (<0.01) and physical symptoms (<0.01). The strength of this study is the fact that its categorization of stress caused by academics has not been done elsewhere. In addition, the impact of acne and physical symptoms has not been found in recent literature. Keeping the outcome of the present study in mind, it is suggested to arrange timely counselling sessions in medical colleges which can alert medical students to remain conscious about the consequences of stress.