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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Eating Behavior
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1507910

The Prevalence and The Effect of Global Stressors on Eating Disorders Among Medical Students

Provisionally accepted
Muneera B Almahmeed Muneera B Almahmeed 1Muna A Almutawa Muna A Almutawa 1Yahya M Naguib Yahya M Naguib 2,3*
  • 1 College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Capital Governorate, Bahrain
  • 2 Physiology Department - College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Capital Governorate, Bahrain
  • 3 Clinical Physiology Department - Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Shebin El Kom, Egypt

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Eating disorders (EDs) are among the most serious forms of psychiatric illness, potentially leading to multi-systemic complications. Owing to their high stress levels, medical students are more likely to experience mental health difficulties that predispose them to developing EDs. Societal stigmatization and misinformation, especially in a middle eastern context, contribute to the underreporting and challenges in seeking the appropriate treatment at an early stage, increasing the risk of complications and mortality. EDs remain an under-studied phenomena in the middle east, limiting understanding and treatment options.The objectives of the current study were to assess the prevalence of EDs, potential contributing factors, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as an independent global stressor among medical students at the Arabian Gulf University.This cross-sectional study consisted of a three-part self-administered questionnaire comprising of demographic data, the Eating Attitudes-26 (EAT-26) test, and COVID-19 associated stressors. The study was conducted on medical students at the AGU in the preparatory year up to Year 6. Data was collected from September 2022 to February 2023.Results: 397 students were recruited in the present study. 32.1% of the tested students demonstrated an elevated risk for developing EDs. Living situation, earlier years of study, and mental health status were significantly associated with increased risk. Response to global stressors such as COVID-19 pandemic was significantly correlated to worsening EDs status in high-risk individuals.EDs have been discovered to be highly prevalent among medical students, which brings to light an undervalued health concern. This warrants both awareness programs on campus, and the development of individual-tailored eating disorder treatment programs to halt progression and increase overall quality of life and education.

    Keywords: Mental Health, Behavior, stress, Eating Disorders, Medical students, Global stressors

    Received: 09 Oct 2024; Accepted: 13 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Almahmeed, Almutawa and Naguib. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yahya M Naguib, Physiology Department - College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, 329, Capital Governorate, Bahrain

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.