A cross-sectional study of sociodemographic factors and their influence on quality of life in medical students at Sao Paulo, Brazil

Background
Various sociodemographic factors can affect the quality of life of medical students and interfere in their ability to study. A deeper understanding of these factors may facilitate improvements in learning and retention of medical students.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional study of 405 medical students, representing 65.3% of the total student body (years 1–6), at a private medical school in São Paulo, Brazil. Among the entire study group, 177 students (43.7%) were male, and 228 (56.3%) were female. The mean age was 23.55 years (SD = 3.98 years, range: 18–40). The World Health Organization Quality of Life-Biomedical Research and Education Facility (WHOQOL-BREF) scale was used to evaluate the following sociodemographic factors: age, sex, academic year, daily traveling time, housing conditions, smoking, weight, height, participant’s and his/her parents’ education background, students who had a degree or not and religious beliefs. The reliability of the WHOQOL-BREF was evaluated using Cronbach’s analysis, and the association of sociodemographic factors with quality of life was examined using multivariate regression analysis.
Main Results
Quality of life was significantly higher in medical students with religious beliefs (β 0.14 for psychological domain; β 0.11 for environmental domain) when compared with that in those with no religious beliefs. BMI was negative associated with QOL in medical students (β -0.11 for physical domain; β -18.9 for the psychological domain). In both male and female students, longer daily traveling time was negative related to QOL (β -0.11 for environmental domain). Having at least one parent who was a doctor was associated with a better quality of life (β 0.17 for environmental domain). Male students presented with significantly higher mean scores for three of the four domains evaluated (β 0.20 for physical domain; β 0.25 for psychological domain; β 0.14 for social domain).
Conclusion
This study has provided novel insights into the effects of sociodemographic factors, physical traits, and religious beliefs on the quality of life of medical students. These findings may facilitate improvements in physical, psychological, and social support for medical students at a critical stage in their training, thereby providing tools for student better adjustment to medical school.

研究背景
诸多社会人口学因素可影响医学生的生活质量，并干扰其学习能力。深入探究此类因素，有助于优化医学生的学习效果与知识留存率。

研究方法
本研究针对巴西圣保罗一所私立医学院的405名医学生开展横断面研究，该样本覆盖该校1至6年级全体医学生的65.3%。研究群体中，男性学生177名（占比43.7%），女性学生228名（占比56.3%），平均年龄为23.55岁（标准差SD=3.98岁，年龄范围18~40岁）。本研究采用世界卫生组织生活质量量表-生物医学研究与教育中心版（WHOQOL-BREF），对以下社会人口学因素进行评估：年龄、性别、就读学年、每日通勤时长、居住状况、吸烟行为、体重、身高、受试者及其父母的教育背景、是否拥有学位以及宗教信仰。本研究通过克朗巴赫系数分析评估WHOQOL-BREF量表的信度，并采用多元回归分析探究社会人口学因素与生活质量之间的关联。

主要研究结果
与无宗教信仰的医学生相比，有宗教信仰的医学生生活质量显著更高（心理维度β=0.14；环境维度β=0.11）。医学生的体重指数（BMI）与生活质量呈负相关（生理维度β=-0.11；心理维度β=-18.9）。无论男女学生，每日通勤时长越长，其生活质量越差（环境维度β=-0.11）。父母至少一方为医生的医学生，生活质量更佳（环境维度β=0.17）。在本次评估的4个维度中，男性学生在其中3个维度的平均得分显著更高（生理维度β=0.20；心理维度β=0.25；社会维度β=0.14）。

研究结论
本研究针对社会人口学因素、生理特征及宗教信仰对医学生生活质量的影响提供了全新的视角。本研究结果可为处于培养关键阶段的医学生优化生理、心理与社会支持提供参考，进而助力医学生更好地适应医学院校的学习生活。