Impact of COVID-19 on psychological and academic performance of medical students in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health and psychosocial conditions of everyone worldwide according to the WHO. Public health emergencies affect college students and are expressed as anxiety, worry, and fear. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the psychological health and performance of medical students. DESIGN AND SETTINGS: A cross-sectional study using an online survey was done. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Participants were 1591 Saudi medical students. A predesigned questionnaire included questions on demographic characters, GPA, having a relative got COVID-19, how to face sad news and stressors, and satisfaction with online lectures. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale was used that included seven items asking about the degree the participant was bothered by feeling anxious in the last 2 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 59.4% of students had various degrees of anxiety. Participant age, unsteady family income, high grade point average (GPA,) satisfaction with the online lectures, and being female were associated with higher GAD-7 scores. CONCLUSION: Mental health of medical students was significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological support programs for medical students during the pandemic and provision of high-quality distance learning is essential for psychological well-being during the pandemic.