Introduction:

The internet has become a practically indispensable tool of daily life. However, there are cases in which its inadequate use begins to generate some dependence on users, causing the disorder known as Internet addiction.

Objective:

To evaluate the association between internet addiction and sleep quality in medical students from a Peruvian university.

Material and Methods:

We conducted a cross-sectional analytical study in Basic Sciences medical students. We selected the participants using a random stratified sampling method. For the measurement of the main variables, two instruments were used: The Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Internet Addiction Test (AI). To evaluate the association between the study variables, we calculated the crude (cPR) and adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR), considering a p value <0.05 significant.

Results:

We surveyed a total of 297 medical students. The mean age was 18.7 ± 1.7 years and 55,6 % was female. The prevalence of poor sleep quality and Internet addiction was 72,4 % and 10,4 %, respectively. In the adjusted model we found that being in the third year of the medical studies was a protective factor for poor sleep quality (aPR: 0.59, 95 % CI: 0.36-0.97) and the factors associated with having this condition were being a problematic user (aPR: 1.51, 95 % CI: 1.01-2.23) or having Internet addiction (aPR: 1.71, 95 % CI: 1.01-2.90).

Conclusions:

We found an association between internet addiction and poor sleep quality in medical students. Higher Education Centers should conduct periodic psychometric evaluations and propose strategies and interventions for the mental health of their students.

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