Perceived stress and cardio-somatic physiology in health care students: A cross-sectional analysis of sleep and physical activity

Gorantla Shravya Keerthi; Gummireddy Suneethi; Kunipuri Sarala

doi:10.5455/NJPPP.2026.v16.i2.8

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Original Research
Online Published: 21 Oct 2026

Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol. 2026; 16(2): 113-123

doi: 10.5455/NJPPP.2026.v16.i2.8

Perceived stress and cardio-somatic physiology in health care students: A cross-sectional analysis of sleep and physical activity

Gorantla Shravya Keerthi, Gummireddy Suneethi, Kunipuri Sarala.

Abstract
Background:
Students pursuing studies in the healthcare field may experience higher stress levels and related bodily symptoms. It may be due to pressure from their academics, clinical workload etc.,

Aim:
To examine the association between perceived stress and cardiosomatic symptom burden among healthcare students and to evaluate sleep quality and physical activity.

Methods:
This cross-sectional online survey was conducted among Indian healthcare students. A total of 218 eligible participants were included after excluding responses from participants aged <18y and invalid age entries. The PSS-10 was used to measure perceived stress, PSQI for assessment of sleep quality, GAD-7 for anxiety assessment, and PHQ-9 for the assessment of depressive symptoms.

Results:
The mean age of the respondents was 20.72years, and 60.1 % were female. Higher perceived stress scores were associated with a higher cardiosomatic symptom burden, higher SSS-8 scores, poor sleep quality, and higher depression and anxiety scores. Perceived stress was associated with cardiosomatic symptoms in the unadjusted model and after adjusting for age and sex. However, the estimate was attenuated after adjustment for the PHQ-9 and GAD-7.

Conclusion:
Higher perceived stress was associated with a greater cardiosomatic symptom burden among healthcare students. Furthermore, this association was linked to sleep quality, anxiety, and depression. This shows that student wellbeing activities need to address psychological disturbances, sleep, and stress as interconnected aspects rather than individual concerns.

Key words: Anxiety; Perceived stress; Physical activity; Sleep quality; Somatic symptoms.

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Pubmed Style

Keerthi GS, Suneethi G, Sarala K. Perceived stress and cardio-somatic physiology in health care students: A cross-sectional analysis of sleep and physical activity. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol. 2026; 16(2): 113-123.

doi:10.5455/NJPPP.2026.v16.i2.8

Web Style

Keerthi GS, Suneethi G, Sarala K. Perceived stress and cardio-somatic physiology in health care students: A cross-sectional analysis of sleep and physical activity. https://www.njppp.com/?mno=325345 [Access: October 25, 2026].

doi:10.5455/NJPPP.2026.v16.i2.8

AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Keerthi GS, Suneethi G, Sarala K. Perceived stress and cardio-somatic physiology in health care students: A cross-sectional analysis of sleep and physical activity. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol. 2026; 16(2): 113-123.

doi:10.5455/NJPPP.2026.v16.i2.8

Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Keerthi GS, Suneethi G, Sarala K. Perceived stress and cardio-somatic physiology in health care students: A cross-sectional analysis of sleep and physical activity. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol. (2026), [cited October 25, 2026]; 16(2): 113-123.

doi:10.5455/NJPPP.2026.v16.i2.8

Harvard Style

Keerthi, G. S., Suneethi, . G. & Sarala, . K. (2026) Perceived stress and cardio-somatic physiology in health care students: A cross-sectional analysis of sleep and physical activity. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol, 16 (2), 113-123.

doi:10.5455/NJPPP.2026.v16.i2.8

Turabian Style

Keerthi, Gorantla Shravya, Gummireddy Suneethi, and Kunipuri Sarala. 2026. Perceived stress and cardio-somatic physiology in health care students: A cross-sectional analysis of sleep and physical activity. National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 16 (2), 113-123.

doi:10.5455/NJPPP.2026.v16.i2.8

Chicago Style

Keerthi, Gorantla Shravya, Gummireddy Suneethi, and Kunipuri Sarala. "Perceived stress and cardio-somatic physiology in health care students: A cross-sectional analysis of sleep and physical activity." National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology 16 (2026), 113-123.

doi:10.5455/NJPPP.2026.v16.i2.8

MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

doi:10.5455/NJPPP.2026.v16.i2.8

APA (American Psychological Association) Style

doi:10.5455/NJPPP.2026.v16.i2.8

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