Subscribe to RSS
![](/products/assets/desktop/img/oa-logo.png)
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1768683
Medical Students' Syndrome among Medical Students in the University of Sharjah, UAE
![](https://www.thieme-connect.de/media/10.1055-s-00051312/202302/lookinside/thumbnails/10-1055-s-0043-1768683_220174-1.jpg)
Abstract
Background Medical students' syndrome (MSS) is a set of psychosomatic symptoms that affect students due to their medical background knowledge.
Objectives This study aims to measure the prevalence and assess the knowledge about MSS among medical students at the University of Sharjah. It also aims to compare the attributed characteristics of MSS between different years of study.
Methods A self-administered 24-item questionnaire was distributed to 503 students enrolled in the College of Medicine at University of Sharjah using nonprobability convenience sampling during June 2021. A total of 472 responses were completed and analyzed using descriptive studies and chi-squared test.
Results The prevalence of MSS in this study was found to be 70.8% (n = 334). Clinical year students were 1.75 times more likely to have felt they had a disease they studied about (95% confidence interval: 1.05–2.90, p = 0.03).
Conclusion Medical students are more likely to experience MSS as their education progresses.
Publication History
Article published online:
07 June 2023
© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
A-12, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, Noida-201301 UP, India
-
References
- 1 Akbar S, Riaz M, Munawar L, Shakoor S. Medical student syndrome: a hypochondriacal distress in undergraduates-verity or myth introduction. J Bahria University Medical Dental College 2020; 10 (03) 200-204
- 2 Waterman LZ, Weinman JA. Medical student syndrome: fact or fiction? A cross-sectional study. JRSM Open 2014; 5 (02) 2042533313512480
- 3 Muraru ID, Munteanu C, Iorga M, Petrariu FD. Investigating medical students' health concerns during their academic studies. Med-Surg J-Revista Medico-Chirurgicala 2019; 123 (04) 728-734
- 4 Althagafi SS, Alsufyani MH, Shawky OA, Afifi OK, Alomairi N, Masoodi I. The health anxiety in medical students, a comparative study from TaiF university: medical student's syndrome revisited. Br J Med Pract 2019; 12 (01) a003
- 5 Ma YJ, Wang DF, Yuan M. et al. The mediating effect of health anxiety in the relationship between functional somatic symptoms and illness behavior in Chinese inpatients with depression. BMC Psychiatry 2019; 19 (01) a003
- 6 Sadiq S, Majeed I, Khawar F. Medical Student Syndrome The Affliction in Medical Students. Pak Armed Forces Med K 2018; 68 (02) 389-393
- 7 Al-Turki YA, Sagga AT, Alhamidi HA. et al. Prevalence of hypochondriasis among medical students at King Saud University. European J Social Behaviour Sci 2013; 5 (02) 345-353
- 8 Aziz KA, Al-sanadi A, Al-shamsi A, Al-sharqi H, Al-zaabi M, Al-shehhi N. Health anxiety in medical students in the United Arab Emirates. 2018; ;(June): 27-28
- 9 Meng J, Gao C, Tang C, Wang H, Tao Z. Prevalence of hypochondriac symptoms among health science students in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One 2019; 14 (09) e0222663
- 10 Strous RD, Shoenfeld N, Lehman A, Wolf A, Snyder L, Barzilai O. Medical students' self-report of mental health conditions. Int J Med Educ 2012; 3: 1-5