The mental well-being of medical students: Do lifestyles and physical activity make any difference?

Introduction: Lifestyle-including dietary habits, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol consumption-plays a crucial role in shaping both individual and population health. Medical students often have a suboptimal activity level and unhealthy lifestyle habits, which affect their well-being and future medical practice. The aim of this research was to examine the frequency of insufficient physical activity and lifestyle factors associated with it among fifth-year medical students at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, as well as their association with the physical and mental health of students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among fifth-year medical students at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, during the social medicine course in November 2023. An anonymous questionnaire was used to assess physical activity, lifestyle characteristics, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. The study included 432 students, achieving a 90.4% participation rate. Based on energy expenditure, participants were categorized into groups with sufficient and insufficient physical activity levels. Results: A total of 379 students (92%) belonged to the sufficient physical activity group, while 33 students (8%) were classified as having insufficient physical activity. Multivariate logistic regression exhibited a significant association between physical inactivity and lower BMI (OR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.69-0.95), more pronounced depression symptoms (OR: 1.07, 95% CI: 1.01-1.15) and poorer financial status (OR: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.27-0.96). Conclusion: Most of the surveyed students are sufficiently physically active. Physical inactivity was significantly associated with female gender, lower BMI, and more pronounced symptoms of depression.