Mental health and wellbeing among Egyptian medical students: a cross-sectional study

Background: Medical students are prone to experience high levels of stress during their studies, which can lead to burnout and mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression, that can affect their academic performance and ability to practice. We therefore conducted an online survey to collect data on demographics, sources of stress, mental health problems, burnout, and substance use in 547 medical students from two universities in Cairo. We used the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12), and the CAGE questionnaire. Results: Our results indicated that 16% of participants were diagnosed with a mental illness while in medical school, with 88% screening positive for burnout on the OLBI, 63% reaching the threshold as cases on the GHQ-12 and 9% screening positive on the CAGE questionnaire. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between scores on the OLBI and the GHQ-12. Conclusions: Our study indicated that there were very high levels of psychological distress (burnout, mental illness) among medical students, with high rates of disengagement and exhaustion.