Psychosocial stress and gastrointestinal changes in medical students in Mexico

Abstract

Stress in medical students can present itself in different ways, the most common gastrointestinal manifestations are appetite alterations, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, abdominal distention, the above due to different activities during student life such as exhibitions, exams, homework, altering the digestive system which leads to the progressive deterioration of health. The purpose of the study was to demonstrate the relationship between manifesting gastrointestinal changes and stress in medical students in Mexico. It is a descriptive study using a cross-sectional design, applied to 74 medical students, obtaining a minimum score of 13 and maximum of 32, with an average of 22 points, SD 4.9 according to the perceived stress scale (EEP-10). The results show a significant relationship between stress and the appearance of gastrointestinal alterations such as: Alterations in appetite, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain with the exception of abdominal distention with which a significant relationship was not evident. It is concluded that this finding underlines the significant influence of stress on digestive health and highlights the importance of comprehensively addressing emotional well-being to prevent and effectively manage the associated gastrointestinal alterations.