Are lifestyle behaviors correlated to mental health disorders in medical students?

Abstract Background Recently, there has been a renew interest to medical students’ mental health, which may be influenced by several sociodemographic and cultural factors, academic overload, but also by lifestyle behaviours. This study aimed to assess the correlation between major lifestyle behaviors and mental health in medical students. Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 521 medical students randomized from different levels, at Southern Tunisia Medical School, 2017. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and the Simple Lifestyle Indicator Questionnaire (SLIQ) were used to assess mental health and lifestyle, respectively. Results The mean values of GHQ-12 and SLIQ were 4.1±2.8 and 6.2±1.4, respectively. According to SLIQ components, we noted an unhealthy lifestyle in 36.9%, 50.1% and 20.2% for diet, physical activities and stress level, respectively. The prevalence of psychological distress (GHQ-12≥4) was 50.1%. The GHQ-12 items analysis revealed that 235 cases (45.1%) were unable to concentrate, 237 cases (45.5%) felt unhappy and depressed and 195 cases (37.4%) had a loss of sleep over worry. Low family financial situation (Odds Ratio (OR)=1.5;95%CI = [1.1-2.3]), internship level, (OR = 1.8;95%CI = [1.1-3.3]) and medium/poor academic performance (OR = 2.2;95%CI = [1.5-3.2]) were significantly associated with psychological distress. Multivariate analysis showed that unhealthy lifestyle was independently associated with psychological distress (Adjusted OR = 5.8;95%CI = [2.4-14.8]). Conclusions Our study highlighted the magnitude of psychological distress in medical students. Unhealthy life style was a potential predictive of mental disorders. These findings are extremely useful for guiding future curricular changes upon entry into medical schools. Key messages Mental disorder prevalence ranked at an alarming rate among medical students. Promoting healthy life style represents a reliable tool to sustain a good quality of life for the future-doctors.