E-ISSN 2231-3206 | ISSN 2320-4672
 

Original Research

Online Publishing Date:
24 / 05 / 2023

 


Prevalence of stress and its association with vitamin D status in undergraduate medical students

Amrutha Mary Zachariah, Susan John, Alice David, Ann U Thomas, Leya Elizabeth Babu.


Abstract
Background: Medical education is considered to be the most stressful learning process globally. Stress can have a negative impact on the academic performance and psychosocial well-being of the students. Perceived stress scale-10 (PSS-10) is a useful tool to assess mental stress. Being involved in the neurotransmitter systems in the brain; vitamin D may have a role in the perception of stress. Hence, finding any association between stress and vitamin D will help us to address stress suitably.

Aims and Objectives: The aims and objectives were to assess the prevalence of stress in medical undergraduates and to find its association with vitamin D levels in the body.

Materials and Methods: The perception of stress was assessed in 79 students of age between 18 and 21 years using the PSS-10. A total score above 14 is considered moderate to high stress. The serum vitamin D was measured by the chemiluminescent immunoassay technique. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to assess the correlation between stress and vitamin D.

Results: About 86% of the students showed moderate to high stress with females having a significantly high stress (P = 0.002) compared to males. About 87% of females and 91% of males were having hypovitaminosis D with no gender association. Even though vitamin D was negatively correlated with stress, the association was not statistically significant with P = 0.5.

Conclusion: The study shows a high prevalence of stress and hypovitaminosis in medical students. However, vitamin D is not associated with the perception of stress.

Key words: Medical Education; Mental Stress; Vitamin D


 
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How to Cite this Article
Pubmed Style

Zachariah AM, John S, David A, Thomas AU, Babu LE. Prevalence of stress and its association with vitamin D status in undergraduate medical students. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol. 2023; 13(12): 2440-2445. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05236202312052023


Web Style

Zachariah AM, John S, David A, Thomas AU, Babu LE. Prevalence of stress and its association with vitamin D status in undergraduate medical students. https://www.njppp.com/?mno=151735 [Access: March 14, 2024]. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05236202312052023


AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Zachariah AM, John S, David A, Thomas AU, Babu LE. Prevalence of stress and its association with vitamin D status in undergraduate medical students. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol. 2023; 13(12): 2440-2445. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05236202312052023



Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Zachariah AM, John S, David A, Thomas AU, Babu LE. Prevalence of stress and its association with vitamin D status in undergraduate medical students. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol. (2023), [cited March 14, 2024]; 13(12): 2440-2445. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05236202312052023



Harvard Style

Zachariah, A. M., John, . S., David, . A., Thomas, . A. U. & Babu, . L. E. (2023) Prevalence of stress and its association with vitamin D status in undergraduate medical students. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol, 13 (12), 2440-2445. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05236202312052023



Turabian Style

Zachariah, Amrutha Mary, Susan John, Alice David, Ann U Thomas, and Leya Elizabeth Babu. 2023. Prevalence of stress and its association with vitamin D status in undergraduate medical students. National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 13 (12), 2440-2445. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05236202312052023



Chicago Style

Zachariah, Amrutha Mary, Susan John, Alice David, Ann U Thomas, and Leya Elizabeth Babu. "Prevalence of stress and its association with vitamin D status in undergraduate medical students." National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology 13 (2023), 2440-2445. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05236202312052023



MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

Zachariah, Amrutha Mary, Susan John, Alice David, Ann U Thomas, and Leya Elizabeth Babu. "Prevalence of stress and its association with vitamin D status in undergraduate medical students." National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology 13.12 (2023), 2440-2445. Print. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05236202312052023



APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Zachariah, A. M., John, . S., David, . A., Thomas, . A. U. & Babu, . L. E. (2023) Prevalence of stress and its association with vitamin D status in undergraduate medical students. National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 13 (12), 2440-2445. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05236202312052023