ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Despite the biological evidence supporting the detrimental impact of psychological stress (PS) on skin health, few descriptive studies have examined this topic. This study aims to investigate the extent of skin complaints and their correlation with PS among medical students in Jordan.

This cross-sectional study included 481 medical students in Jordan. The study design involved the administration of validated questionnaires, including the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7). Data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Jordan University Hospital.

Among participants, 75.1% were female, and 62% were in their fourth to sixth year of medical education. All psychometric instruments demonstrated good internal consistency. DLQI scores indicated that 17% and 14% of students reported a very large or extremely large and a moderate impact of skin complaints on quality of life, respectively. Pearson's correlation analysis revealed significant positive associations among psychometric measures, with the strongest correlation observed between GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores (r = 0.762). Hair loss and pimples were the most commonly reported skin complaints (64.21 and 60.09%, respectively), and were significantly associated with higher PS levels (p < 0.001). Most dermatological symptoms were also significantly associated with poorer dermatology-related quality of life and higher anxiety and depressive symptom scores (p < 0.05).

This study highlights the high prevalence of dermatological symptoms among medical students and their association with psychological distress. The frequent reporting of hair loss and pimples underscores the need for comprehensive approaches addressing both psychological stress and dermatological health. These findings highlight the importance of addressing psychological well-being as part of strategies to improve dermatological health among medical students.