Sleep Quality among Medical Students and its Relationship with Self-reported Skin Complaints: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Sleep disturbances are a widespread issue among medical students and have been linked to various negative outcomes, both academically and personally. Sleep plays a crucial role in regulating various aspects of skin physiology, including surface pH, trans-epidermal water loss, blood flo...

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Main Authors: Dhaifallah Alenizi, Yousif Abdullatif Albedaiwi, Raed Ayidh Alruwaili, Hanaa El-Sayed Abdel Rahman Bayomy, Shereen Mohamed Olama
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JCDR Research and Publications Private Limited 2025-07-01
Series:Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research
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Online Access:https://jcdr.net/article_fulltext.asp?issn=0973-709x&year=2025&month=July&volume=19&issue=7&page=OC11-OC16&id=21267
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author Dhaifallah Alenizi
Yousif Abdullatif Albedaiwi
Raed Ayidh Alruwaili
Hanaa El-Sayed Abdel Rahman Bayomy
Shereen Mohamed Olama
author_facet Dhaifallah Alenizi
Yousif Abdullatif Albedaiwi
Raed Ayidh Alruwaili
Hanaa El-Sayed Abdel Rahman Bayomy
Shereen Mohamed Olama
author_sort Dhaifallah Alenizi
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Sleep disturbances are a widespread issue among medical students and have been linked to various negative outcomes, both academically and personally. Sleep plays a crucial role in regulating various aspects of skin physiology, including surface pH, trans-epidermal water loss, blood flow, and skin temperature. Aim: This study aimed to assess the sleep quality and the relationship with skin symptoms among medical students at the College of Medicine, Northern Border University, Arar City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the sleep quality of medical students at Northern Border University, Arar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from September 2024 to February 2025. Data included sociodemographic information, including lifestyle factors such as age, gender, academic year, current Grade Point Average (GPA), the self-reported skin complaints questionnaire, which includes skin symptoms commonly reported, and the last section contained the sleep condition indicator for assessing subjective sleep quality. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed, and statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: A total of 317 medical students were enrolled in the study of which 179 (56.5%) were females. The average Sleep Condition Indicator (SCI) of students was 17.7 (±5.7), with 40.4% experiencing insomnia (SCI score <16). Over half reported taking more than 30 minutes to fall asleep, while 219 (70.9%) stayed awake for ≤30 minutes if they awoke at night. About 235 (74.1%) had sleep issues for ≥2 nights a week. The most common skin complaints were dryness in 223 (70.4%) and dandruff 212 (66.9%), with 116 (36.6%) reporting itchiness and 39.7% excoriation. Better sleep quality correlated with never having body odour, burning sensation, dandruff, feeling of disfigurement, ingrown hairs, itching, oily skin, cuticle picking, and tingling skin (p-value<0.05). Conclusion: The current study provided evidence of poor sleep quality among the medical students, especially among medical students in early academic years. There is a strong, positive and significant relationship between many skin symptoms and poor sleep. Medical students need to be taught about good sleep behaviours and get enough sleep to promote healthy skin.
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spelling doaj-art-1c7f2ba42c364cf4aa12dbb6e2041b782025-08-20T03:51:44ZengJCDR Research and Publications Private LimitedJournal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research2249-782X0973-709X2025-07-01197OC11OC1610.7860/JCDR/2025/80024.21267Sleep Quality among Medical Students and its Relationship with Self-reported Skin Complaints: A Cross-sectional StudyDhaifallah Alenizi0Yousif Abdullatif Albedaiwi1Raed Ayidh Alruwaili2Hanaa El-Sayed Abdel Rahman Bayomy3Shereen Mohamed Olama4Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia.Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia.Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia.Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia.Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia.Introduction: Sleep disturbances are a widespread issue among medical students and have been linked to various negative outcomes, both academically and personally. Sleep plays a crucial role in regulating various aspects of skin physiology, including surface pH, trans-epidermal water loss, blood flow, and skin temperature. Aim: This study aimed to assess the sleep quality and the relationship with skin symptoms among medical students at the College of Medicine, Northern Border University, Arar City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the sleep quality of medical students at Northern Border University, Arar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from September 2024 to February 2025. Data included sociodemographic information, including lifestyle factors such as age, gender, academic year, current Grade Point Average (GPA), the self-reported skin complaints questionnaire, which includes skin symptoms commonly reported, and the last section contained the sleep condition indicator for assessing subjective sleep quality. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed, and statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: A total of 317 medical students were enrolled in the study of which 179 (56.5%) were females. The average Sleep Condition Indicator (SCI) of students was 17.7 (±5.7), with 40.4% experiencing insomnia (SCI score <16). Over half reported taking more than 30 minutes to fall asleep, while 219 (70.9%) stayed awake for ≤30 minutes if they awoke at night. About 235 (74.1%) had sleep issues for ≥2 nights a week. The most common skin complaints were dryness in 223 (70.4%) and dandruff 212 (66.9%), with 116 (36.6%) reporting itchiness and 39.7% excoriation. Better sleep quality correlated with never having body odour, burning sensation, dandruff, feeling of disfigurement, ingrown hairs, itching, oily skin, cuticle picking, and tingling skin (p-value<0.05). Conclusion: The current study provided evidence of poor sleep quality among the medical students, especially among medical students in early academic years. There is a strong, positive and significant relationship between many skin symptoms and poor sleep. Medical students need to be taught about good sleep behaviours and get enough sleep to promote healthy skin.https://jcdr.net/article_fulltext.asp?issn=0973-709x&year=2025&month=July&volume=19&issue=7&page=OC11-OC16&id=21267academic stressskin problemssleep disorderssleep hygienesleep indicators
spellingShingle Dhaifallah Alenizi
Yousif Abdullatif Albedaiwi
Raed Ayidh Alruwaili
Hanaa El-Sayed Abdel Rahman Bayomy
Shereen Mohamed Olama
Sleep Quality among Medical Students and its Relationship with Self-reported Skin Complaints: A Cross-sectional Study
Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research
academic stress
skin problems
sleep disorders
sleep hygiene
sleep indicators
title Sleep Quality among Medical Students and its Relationship with Self-reported Skin Complaints: A Cross-sectional Study
title_full Sleep Quality among Medical Students and its Relationship with Self-reported Skin Complaints: A Cross-sectional Study
title_fullStr Sleep Quality among Medical Students and its Relationship with Self-reported Skin Complaints: A Cross-sectional Study
title_full_unstemmed Sleep Quality among Medical Students and its Relationship with Self-reported Skin Complaints: A Cross-sectional Study
title_short Sleep Quality among Medical Students and its Relationship with Self-reported Skin Complaints: A Cross-sectional Study
title_sort sleep quality among medical students and its relationship with self reported skin complaints a cross sectional study
topic academic stress
skin problems
sleep disorders
sleep hygiene
sleep indicators
url https://jcdr.net/article_fulltext.asp?issn=0973-709x&year=2025&month=July&volume=19&issue=7&page=OC11-OC16&id=21267
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AT raedayidhalruwaili sleepqualityamongmedicalstudentsanditsrelationshipwithselfreportedskincomplaintsacrosssectionalstudy
AT hanaaelsayedabdelrahmanbayomy sleepqualityamongmedicalstudentsanditsrelationshipwithselfreportedskincomplaintsacrosssectionalstudy
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