The Relationship Between Psychological Conditions and Gastrointestinal Symptoms of Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objective

This study aims to explore the nexus between students’ psychological well-being and the manifestation of gastrointestinal symptoms (GISs) amid the health lockdown enforced in Xi’an, focusing on the student populace of Xi’an Medical College and Shaanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Materials and methods

A survey encompassing psychological parameters and GISs was administered to a randomized cohort of 1327 college students drawn from Xi’an Medical College and Shaanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The survey instrument was developed utilizing the Questionnaire Star platform. Subsequent to data collection, analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism 9 and SPSS 22.0.

Results

Comparative analysis revealed statistically significant disparities (P < 0.05) in various GISs between the periods during and preceding the health lockdown, encompassing symptoms such as nausea/vomiting, acid reflux, postprandial fullness/early satiety, anorexia, decreased appetite, bloating, abdominal discomfort, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation. Notably, the mean score for Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) was 3.31±3.92, indicating mild anxiety, while the mean score for Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) was 1.15±1.28, suggesting mild depression. Detailed evaluation of anxiety revealed prevalence rates of 34% among respondents, with 34.2% of these individuals reporting concurrent GISs, while among those evaluated for depression (38.8% of the sample), 44.2% reported concurrent GISs. Furthermore, multiple linear regression analysis unveiled a negative correlation between GISs during the health lockdown and lifestyle scores, while positive correlations were observed with GISs preceding the lockdown, anxiety, and depression. The formulated multiple linear regression equation for GISs during the health lockdown is delineated as follows: 14.693–0.342 life style + 0.725GISs before health lockdown + 0.218anxiety + 0.564 depression.

Conclusion

This investigation underscores the substantial impact of anxiety and depression on the student body, accentuating their role in precipitating GISs during health lockdown situations. The psychological well-being of medical students during exigent circumstances such as natural disasters warrants heightened attention, necessitating proactive measures aimed at emotional regulation to mitigate the onset of GISs.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• health lockdown
• gastrointestinal symptoms
• anxiety
• depression

Abbreviations

Corona Virus Disease 2019(COVID-19); gastrointestinal symptoms(GIS); Inflammatory bowel disease(IBD); Irritable bowel syndrome(IBS).

Data Sharing Statement

Both the article and its online supplementary material contain the data that support it (see Supplementary Tables S1 and S2).

Ethical Considerations

All participants were duly apprised of the voluntary nature of their participation and assured that they could withdraw from the study at any juncture without facing repercussions. The study protocol received approval from the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Medical College on January 18, 2022, and informed consent was diligently obtained from all participants. The approval number assigned to the study is NO.XYYFY2022LSK-003.Our study complies with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Acknowledgments

This is a short text to acknowledge the contributions of Yubei District People’s Hospital of Chongqing and The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Medical University.

Author Contributions

All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, or in all these areas; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

We thus declare that there was no financial or commercial tie that might be interpreted as posing a conflict of interest during the research.

Additional information

Funding

The Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Minimally Invasive Diagnosis and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Tumors and Rapid Rehabilitation Research Open Subjects (21SZDSYS16), the Shaanxi Provincial Key R&D Program (2021SF-129) and The Innovation Team of Xi’an Medical University (2021TD15) provided funding for this study.