Relationships between depression, anxiety, sleep and coping skills among medical students: A cross-sectional study

Aim: Depression, anxiety and sleep problems may be elevated among medical students. No study up to now evaluated the relationships of those problems with coping skills among Turkish medical students. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between depression, anxiety, sleep and coping skills among medical students. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional survey included 341 medical students and evaluated depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, PHQ-9), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, GAD-7), sleep problems (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI) and coping skills (Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced, COPE) with self-reports. Preclinical and clinical students as well as female and male students were compared. Predictors of impaired sleep were evaluated with ordinal logistic regression. P-value was set at 0.05. Results: Depression and sleep impairment were significantly more frequent among preclinical students while anxiety was significantly elevated among female students. Clinical students employed emotion-focused coping significantly more frequently. Dysfunctional coping correlated with self-reported depression, anxiety and sleep problems. The sole significant predictor of sleep impairment in the regression was the depressive symptom score. Discussion: Preclinical students may benefit from interventions supporting active coping as well as social interactions. Clinical students may benefit from interventions targeting nicotine and alcohol use.