Does medical university or integration to a new culture have stronger effect on students’ health?

Abstract Background Medical students’ health problems are well-known phenomena. It could be particularly important for international students who have to integrate to a new culture as well and whose language difficulties can also hinder their ability to manage their health problems. The aim of our research is to characterise changes in students’ health status and health behaviour during their studies, and we hypothesized that health deteriorations are higher among foreign students due to acculturation difficulties. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2021 among medical students at the University of Szeged, Hungary. The questionnaire assessed self-reported health status (chronic diseases, general health, and mental health), health-related behaviour (alcohol consumption, smoking) and healthcare-seeking behaviour (visiting general practitioner, dentist, specialist and psychologist) before and during university were characterised. Data were analysed with SPSS 28.0 using descriptive statistics. Results 688 students responded (326 International and 362 Hungarian). The proportion of chronic illnesses increased during medical school (12.6% vs. 16.4%), they rated before and during their university years their general health (22.1% vs. 33.1%) and mental health (38.2%, 50.9%) unfavourable (p < 0.001). The alcohol consumption increased (66.7% vs. 70.1%; p < 0,011), the proportion of regular (6.8%, 7.8%) and occasional smokers (16.9%, 14.7%) has not changed significantly (p = 0.19). They visited health professionals fewer times: general practitioner (70.6 vs. 56.8%), dentist (81.8% vs. 59.2%), specialist (49.7% vs. 37.6%), psychologist (25.4% vs. 17.2%) (p < 0,001).The health status and health behaviour of foreign students is no worse than that of the Hungarian students, we cannot speak about a negative acculturational effect. Discussion There is a need to identify smaller specific risk groups and to develop a specific intervention programme for them. Key messages • Medical students’ health and health behaviours tend to decline during university, indicating a need for targeted health protection measures. • The health of international medical students is not worse than that of their local counterparts, suggesting that the acculturation process does not have a clearly negative impact on their health.