Chronic diseases among medical students in Morocco: What are the interactions with psychosocial stress?

OBJECTIVESTo evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with Chronic psychiatric and somatic illness among medical students in Morocco. METHODSA multicentric cross-sectional study during a period of four weeks in February 2019 involving 605 students of 1st, 2nd and 3rd cycle of medical studies of the faculties of medicine in Morocco. RESULTS41.5% (251) of students confirmed having a chronic disease, among which 80% were under treatment. Psychiatric conditions represented the most frequent chronic illnesses among medical students (28%), followed by dermatological (16%), allergic and respiratory (12.2%), and gastroenterological (11%) conditions. Chronic illnesses among medical students were significantly associated with female gender (P: 0.0000000037), level of education (P: 0.0000), personal history of suicide attempts (P: 0.0000259), and a consumption of psychoactive substances (P: 0.0000029046). CONCLUSIONChronic illnesses are frequent, underestimated and undertreated among medical students in Morocco. The link with stress has been suggested as the value of establishing a program to train medical students in stress management.