EJMS

Abstract

Background: Sleep disorders are considered the most common clinical problem encountered in medicine and psychiatry. Inadequate or non restorative sleep can markedly impair a patient's quality of life. A potential obstacle to maximize success in college is the high prevalence of sleep disorders among college students. The study aimed at describing the prevalence of sleep disorders among medical college students and related risk factors. Method: A cross sectional analytic study conducted in medical college students at MUST university in which 176 students participated. Data were collected using a semi structured questionnaire based on DSM-IV. Results: The prevalence of sleep disorders among medical college students was 45.7% and the most prevalent disorder was insomnia reported by 42.6% of students. In this study, the prevalence of sleep disorders was statistically significantly higher in females (60.9%) than male students (38.5%) (p=0.010). Sleep disorders could be related to caffeine consumption as (48.2%) of those consuming caffeine versus (28.6%) of those who did not showed sleep disorders with significant difference p=0.039. Presence of college stressors, family stressors, family history of sleep disorders were significant factors in occurrence of sleep disorders. Conclusion: It was concluded that the prevalence of sleep disorders among medical college students was 45.7% and the most common form of sleep disorder was insomnia, it could be related to, female gender, academic and family stressors, caffeine consumption and smoking, and this could raise an alarm for early and immediate intervention in this sector of youth by organizing health education sessions and arrange recreational time at university to decrease academic stresses.