THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EATING DISORDERS AND STRESS AMONG MEDICAL STUDENT: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Introduction: Eating disorders (EDs) primarily psychiatric conditions still under-reported in Saudi Arabia, especially among medical students who are mostly in the high-risk groups for their teenage period and exposure to stress. Therefore, this study evaluated the association between eating disorders and stress among medical students in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the College of Medicine, Tabuk University, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, on medical students using the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Pearsons correlation and chi-square test were used to correlate and compare variables with p<0.05 for statistical significance. Results: We received 373 responses. Most respondents were aged 21-23 years (41.8%), 60.3% were female, 98.6% were single, 13.9% had medical conditions, 15.3% were smokers, and 47.5% reported rarely or never doing physical exercises. We found a mean EAT score of 15.28 ± 13.3 and a mean PSS score of 20.59 ± 4.7. Respondents at high risk of EDs were 27.9%, and 82.8% had moderate stress levels. Medical conditions (p=0.005) and physical exercises (p=0.035) significantly positively correlated with a high risk of EDs.High stress levels were associated with smoking (p=0.032), medical conditions (p=0.027), female gender (p=0.003) and poor academic performance (0.009). This study determined no statistically significant association between EDs and perceived stress levels (P=0.285). Conclusion: These findings indicate that EDs risks and stress levels are high among medical students, highlighting the need for addressing the issue. Though no significant association between EDs and perceived stress levels could be established, stress is predominant among the studied students and should be addressed to produce high-quality medical doctors.