EXCESSIVE DAYTIME SLEEPINESS AND ITS RELATION WITH QUALITY OF LIFE AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN MEDICAL STUDENTS

OBJECTIVE: To establish a relationship between excessive daytime sleepiness, quality of life (QOL) and academic performance among medical students. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from August to December 2018 on 441 medical students, selected through non-probability convenience sampling from a public-sector university in Pakistan. Data collection tool was a closed ended, self-administered questionnaire, consisting of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), WHO Quality of Life-brief version (WHOQOL-BREF) scale and demographic information. Questions regarding sleep quality before exam and self-perceived academic performance were also included. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 25. Pearson correlations and student t-tests were used at a significant level of p <0.05. RESULTS: Out of 596 questionnaires distributed among students, 441 students returned the questionnaire with a response rate of 73.9%. The mean age of the study population was 20.56 +/- 1.61 years. The sample comprised 274 (56%) female and 194 (44%) male students. Majority of students (37.6%) had average sleep of 6-7 hours/night. Higher scores on the ESS correlated with lower scores on the WHOQOL-BREF domains and a statistically significant correlation (p <0.05) was obtained between ESS scores and WHOQOL-BREF's physical and psychological domain scores. The study established no significant correlation between daytime sleepiness and self-reported academic performance of medical students. CONCLUSION: Excessive daytime sleepiness is related to decreased quality of life in medical students. Thus, medical schools should provide necessary support for students to overcome such challenge in order to cope better with their continuous academic demands.