Academic stress affects on the appearance of anxiaty and anxiaty-fobic disorders in first year medical students

Author(s):  V.V. Ruzhenkova, Belgorod National Research University, Belgorod, Russia

V.A. Ruzhenkov, Belgorod National Research University, Belgorod, Russia, ruzhenkov@bsu.edu.ru

I.Ju. Shkileva, Belgorod National Research University, Belgorod, Russia

E.V. Sheljakina, Belgorod National Research University, Belgorod, Russia

Ya.V. Sidyakina, Belgorod National Research University , Belgorod, Russia

N.M. Naumenko, Belgorod National Research University, Belgorod, Russia

Issue:  Volume 41, №2

Rubric:  Preventive Medicine

Annotation:  Applicants who entering medical schools are characterized by a high level of stress and anxiety and in the initial years of study they meet the high level of academic stress, which negatively affects their health. In this regard, the study aimed to verify the prevalence of anxiety and anxiety-phobic disorders among first-year medical students to develop recommendations for prevention. A sample of 166 Russian-speaking first-year students aged 17 to 22 (18.0±0.9) years were examined at the 3-4 months of study using the structured interview, clinical psychopathological and psychometric methods. Symptoms of anxiety-phobic and anxiety disorders were revealed in 41.5% of cases, 1.6 times more often in female students. The clinical level was set at 28.8%: agoraphobia (6.0%), social phobias (12.6%), spe-cific (isolated) phobias (7.8%) and generalized anxiety disorder (2.4%). The academic stress manifested as affective (bad mood with decreased self-esteem, anxiety, fear), asthenic (poor working capacity, fa-tigue, headaches, attention disorders, helplessness) disorders and sleep disorders. Individual panic attacks corresponding to the clinic of panic disorder, as well as mixed anxiety and depressive disorder, were not met. More than a third part of the students of both groups used alcohol, took medications, and communi-cated in a social network for a long time to reduce stress, which creates the risk of addictive behavior. Thus, due to the high level of educational stress accompanied by affective and psychosomatic symptoms, trainings for "Time Management" and "Stress Management" are necessary for first-year medical students (at the beginning of course of study)

Keywords:  medical students, academic stress, anxiety-phobic disorders, anxiety disorders, prevention

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