Introduction:

Medical students are often vulnerable to mental health disorders such as anxiety and poor sleep quality. Both can have a negative impact on their eating behavior, which could generate middle- and long-term anemia-related problems during their studies.

Objective:

To identify the prevalence of anxiety and poor sleep quality and to evaluate the association with anemia in medical students of a Peruvian public university.

Material and Methods:

We conducted a cross-sectional analytical study in 80 medical students from the first to the fourth year. We used the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to assess anxiety symptoms and sleep quality, respectively. We also included sociodemographic, academic, and behavioral data. Likewise, we determined the presence of anemia by obtaining hemoglobin results, following the procedures stipulated by the Peruvian Ministry of Health.

Results:

We found a percentage of anxiety and poor sleep quality of 62.5% and 63,7%, respectively. To be female (RPa: 1,39; 95 % CI: 1,01-1,91) and to have moderate anemia (PRa: 1,31; 95 % CI: 1,06-1,64) were associated with anxiety. On the other hand, the factors associated with poor sleep quality were to be located in Clinics (PRa: 1,54, 95 % CI: 1,17-2,02) and to have moderate anemia (PRa: 1,52, CI95 %: 1,09-2,11).

Conclusion:

Anxiety and sleep quality were frequent problems in the medical students studied. Moderate anemia was an associated factor for both cases.

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