Investigating the Effect of Studying in the Home City on Quality of Life, Academic Burnout, Anxiety, and Depression Levels among Medical Students of Athens and Patras

Introduction: Increased levels of stress, pressure, and possible isolation due to intense study results in academic burnout, increased levels of anxiety, depressive feelings, and a pessimistic outlook on life. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the levels of anxiety, depression, academic burnout and quality of life in medical students of the University of Athens and Patras, with the influence factor of studying in the cities of origin. Methodology: The sample, selected using a convenience sampling method, consisted of 159 medical students from two universities representing all years. Specifically, 41 men and 118 women participated in the survey, corresponding to 26%, 74%, and 1%, respectively. The data collection tool was a four-part questionnaire: first, the collection of demographic characteristics, second, the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale questionnaire (DASS-21), third, the Quality-of-Life Scale (QOLS), and fourth, the Copenhagen Burnout Scale for Students (CBI-S). All questionnaires were used in their translated form. Statistical analysis was performed using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Our initial assumption that there would be statistically significant differences between genders, cities of study (native or not), and schools proved to be wrong. Therefore, no differences were found between genders, cities of study, or universities in terms of anxiety, depression, and academic burnout. However, a statistically significant difference was found between the university of study and the quality of life of the students. Thus, the hypothesis that there would be a difference between universities (EKPA or Patras) and the students' quality of life was confirmed. Conclusion: There were statistically significant results between the QOLS total and the independent variable of the university. The use of a larger and more evenly distributed sample is recommended.