Stress and lıfestyle habıts among local and ınternatıonal medıcal students: a cross-sectıonal survey

Introduction: Student stress has become a growing concern due to its impact on students’ mental and physical well-being. Academic workload, ineffective study habits, and psychological pressures are major contributors to chronic stress, particularly among medical students. International students face additional adaptation challenges, further exacerbating stress levels. This study assesses stress levels among local and international medical students at the South Kazakhstan Medical Academy and explores their correlation with lifestyle habits. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among third-year medical students in both Kazakh and English. Data collection was done via an anonymous online questionnaire covering sleep patterns, physical activity, stress level, diet, and harmful habits. Statistical data analysis included descriptive statistics. The data does not follow a normal distribution thus nonparametric tests such as Kruskal-Wallis, Spearman’s correlation were employed to assess the statistical significance of differences. Results: A total of 182 students participated, with 26.9% local and 26.9% international students, aged 18 to 26 years. The results show significant differences in sleep patterns, stress levels, and lifestyle habits between the groups. The average sleep duration was 5.7 hours, with 46.7% of all students sleeping 5-6 hours daily and 28.0% sleeping less than 5 hours. The correlation between bedtime and sleep duration was moderate (rs=0.535), indicating that late bedtimes were linked to shorter sleep duration. Stress levels were also high, with the mean stress level at 7.24 (SD=2.43). Local students experience more stress due to academic workload, whereas international students report higher stress levels due to financial difficulties and adaptation challenges. An analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between stress levels and various aspects of students’ lifestyles, including sleep, physical activity, and nutrition. Conclusion: This study highlights the need for interventions to improve sleep quality, stress management, and healthy lifestyle habits among medical students.