Sleep duration among medical students and its association with bronchial asthma, anxiety, and depression

Guidelines recommend 7-9 h of sleep per night for an optimal sleep duration. We aimed to estimate sleep duration and the proportion of participants reporting bronchial asthma and screened positive for anxiety and depressive symptoms among medical students. This cross-sectional study included all medical students at the College of Medicine, King Saud University. Data were collected through an online Google Form questionnaire that included students' demographics, sleep duration, asthma, screening for anxiety and depression, using validated screening tools (Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale-2, and Whooley's Case-finding Instrument for depression). The study recorded 1097 responses (response rate: 75.7%). The students' mean sleep duration was 6.76 ± 1.5 h, with 46.5% reported a short sleep duration of < 7 h per night. 14% reported bronchial asthma, 31.4% screened positive for anxiety symptoms, and 62.7% screened positive for depressive symptoms. The asthma* anxiety* depression interaction as a predictor for sleep duration was not statistically significant, p=.866. On the other hand, we examined sleep duration as a predictor for anxiety and depression; sleep duration (p = .016) and sex (p < .001) were significantly associated with anxiety. It is important to integrate mental health promotion and sleep health education within medical training programs to support student well-being and optimize academic performance. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the factors that influence short sleep duration among medical students.