Abstract

Experiencing health concerns is common, but intense health anxiety, like the “medical student syndrome”, can lead to suffering and functional impairment. Aim: To explore health anxiety among undergraduate medical and non-medical students and make comparisons. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted among 400 undergraduate students, equally divided between medical and non-medical fields. The Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI) was utilized to measure health anxiety in the study participants. Independent samples t-test was applied to test for any significant differences in SHAI scores based on the participant’s professional groups and other characteristics. Results: The prevalence of health anxiety among undergraduate students was observed to be 7.7%. Significantly higher total SHAI scores were observed in medical students compared to non-medical students (p-value = 0.022). MBBS 6th semester students exhibited significantly higher total scores compared to MBBS interns (p = 0.003). Further analysis revealed significant differences in health anxiety related to several personal and familial factors. Conclusions: Medical students exhibited higher levels of health anxiety, particularly in their early years of clinical exposure compared to non-medical students. Health anxiety was influenced by various personal and familial factors.

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