Factors Associated with Anxiety, Depression, and Stress in Peruvian University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, university students have adopted measures that completely transformed their educational environment, and this has generated an increase in psychological stress. The present study aimed to identify the factors associated with anxiety, depression, and stress in students at a university in Peru during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. We conducted a cross-sectional analytical study in students in Lima, Peru. The DASS-21 scale was used to measure levels of depression, anxiety, and stress and associate it with socio-educational and COVID-19-related variables using generalized linear models with Poisson distribution, log link, and robust variance. Of 400 students surveyed, 19.2%, 23.2% and 17.2% of students presented depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. The frequency of depression (PR = 0.91, 95%CI: 0.84-0.99), anxiety (PR = 0.90, 95%CI: 0.83-0.99) and stress (PR = 0.92, 95%CI: 0.86-0.99) was lower in women. The students of the engineering and business faculty presented a higher frequency of anxiety (PR = 1.11, 95%CI: 1.00-1.22). There was a greater frequency of presenting anxiety, depression and stress in students who worked in a different area of health or did not work. Our results suggest the importance of promoting mental health awareness campaigns in university students due to the constant academic load they have.

Factores asociados al rendimiento académico en estudiantes de medicina

RESUMEN Introducción: El rendimiento académico universitario puede verse afectado por diversos factores personales y ambientales. Objetivo: Determinar los factores asociados al rendimiento académico en estudiantes de medicina de una universidad peruana. Métodos: Estudio transversal realizado en 247 estudiantes del primer al noveno ciclo. Se recopiló las calificaciones de la asignatura con el mayor número de créditos y se aplicó una encuesta para recolectar datos sobre sexo, estado civil, carrera previa, estado laboral y nivel de ansiedad. Se realizó un análisis de regresión simple y múltiple para estimar la asociación entre el rendimiento académico y las variables sociodemográficas de los encuestados. Resultados: El 70 % fueron mujeres, la mediana de edad fue 21 años. El 79,4 % reportó haber culminado una carrera. Casi la cuarta parte reportó tener una actividad laboral (24,3 %). El 46,2 % de universitarios presentó ansiedad. La mediana de nota obtenida fue 16 puntos. En el análisis de regresión simple se encontró que haber realizado una carrera previa (p= 0,044) y tener actividad laboral (p= 0,038) estuvieron asociados positivamente al puntaje de rendimiento académico. Sin embargo, en el análisis de regresión múltiple, no se mantuvo las diferencias observadas en ambas variables (p> 0,05). Conclusión: La mediana de nota en el período de estudio es 16 puntos. La mayoría tiene carrera previa y casi un tercio se encuentra laborando. La prevalencia de ansiedad es importante. Sin embargo, no se observa una asociación estadísticamente significativa entre los factores estudiados y el rendimiento académico.

ABSTRACT Introduction: University academic performance can be affected by various personal and environmental factors. Objective: To determine the factors associated with academic performance in medical students at a Peruvian university. Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted in 247 students from the first to the ninth cycle. The grades of the subject with the highest number of credits were collected and a survey was applied to collect data on sex, marital status, previous career, work status, and anxiety level. A simple and multiple regression analysis was performed to estimate the association between academic performance and sociodemographic variables of the respondents. Results: 70 % were female, median age was 21 years. Seventy-nine-point four percent reported having completed a career. Almost a quarter reported having a job (24,3 %). Anxiety was reported by 46,2 % of university students. The median grade obtained was 16 points. In the simple regression analysis, it was found that having a previous career (p= 0,044) and having a job (p= 0,038) were positively associated with the academic performance score. However, in the multiple regression analysis, the differences observed in both variables were not maintained (p> 0,05). Conclusion: The median grade in the study period is 16 points. Most of them have a previous career and almost a third are working. The prevalence of anxiety is significant. However, there is no statistically significant association between the factors studied and academic performance.