Associação entre qualidade do sono e transtornos mentais comuns em estudantes de medicina

Abstract

Introduction: Sleep is a reparative physiological mechanism whose regulatory mechanisms can be influenced by the environment and lifestyle habits. 1 Changes in sleep quality may result from or contribute to the development of mental disorders. 2 In this context, the academic demands in Medicine undergraduate programs may lead to sleep problems and Common Mental Disorders (CMD) in students, justifying studies to support effective actions aimed at improving the quality of life and well-being of this population. 3 Objective: To investigate the association between sleep quality and CMD in Medical students. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with a convenience sampling, including students enrolled in the Medicine program at the Federal University of Sergipe. The research instruments used were the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI - BR) - to assess sleep quality - and the Self Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20) - to identify signs and symptoms of mental distress. Individuals were categorized based on PSQI and SRQ-20 scores, and demographic variables were assessed using the Chi-square test (gender, course terms, race). The continuous variable (age) was evaluated using the Kruskal-Wallis or ANOVA test, depending on the number of categories used. Results were considered statistically significant when p<0.05. Results: The study observed that over 80% of the evaluated students had poor sleep quality or a sleep disorder, regardless of gender, age, or course term. Regarding CMD, a significant association was observed between gender and the presence of mental distress (p=0.003) in the evaluated students, but no association was found with age and academic term. A higher prevalence of CMD was identified in females (57%). The presence of CMD was associated with sleep quality (p<0.001). Conclusion: A high prevalence of poor sleep quality and mental distress was observed in medical students, regardless of age or academic term, highlighting the need for awareness and research to support public actions aimed at improving the quality of life for students.