The association between internet addiction, sleep quality, and health-related quality of life among Iranian medical students

Abstract

Due to the increasing use of the internet in Iranian society, especially among students, and the importance of sleep quality (SQ) and quality of life (QOL), the present study examined the relationship between QOL, SQ, and internet addiction (IA) among medical science students. In the present descriptive-analytical study, the sample comprised Saveh University of Medical Sciences students who were studying in 2019. The survey included demographic information (i.e., age, gender, place of residence, field of study, semester, marital status, smoking status, daily exercise) and the 20-item Internet Addiction Test. From 285 distributed questionnaires, 279 individuals with a mean age of 21.01 years (SD ± 3.17) completed the survey. Findings indicated that students with IA had higher mean scores on (i) all physical dimensions concerning QOL (except for the physical pain) and (ii) all psychological dimensions of QOL. The findings will help national health authorities and planners in Iran design appropriate and effective interventions to improve student health and prevent IA.

Keywords:

• Internet addiction
• sleep quality
• quality of life
• medical students

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical approval was obtained from the Saveh University of Medical Sciences Ethics Committee (Number: IR.SAVEHUMS.REC139409). All participants were informed that their participation was voluntary, that the procedure did not pose any potential risk, and that their identities and data would be strictly confidential and anonymous. Informed written consent was provided by all participants prior to taking part in the study.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Authors contributions

Study concept and design MK and BA. Analysis and interpretation of data: FP and MRR. Drafting the manuscript: BA, FP, and MK. Critical revision of the manuscript: BA, MK and MDG. Final editing and re-write: MDG. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

Data for this study were extracted from a research project at the Saveh University of Medical Sciences which was supported by Social Determinants of Health Research Center. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.