Publication:

Association of sociodemographic and behavioural factors with perceived stress and sleep quality among undergraduate medical students: a cross-sectional study

Background Sleep disturbance and stress are key yet underrecognized determinants of mental health among undergraduate medical students. This study examines the association between sleep quality and perceived stress, and identifies independent sociodemographic and behavioural predictors of each, within the Indian undergraduate medical training context.

Methods This cross-sectional study included 200 undergraduate medical students from Christian Medical College, Ludhiana. Data was collected via google forms using the perceived stress scale (PSS)-10 and the Pittsburgh sleep quality index, alongside sociodemographic and behavioural variables. Statistical analysis included Pearson's correlation, partial correlation, and both univariate and multivariate linear regression. Multicollinearity was assessed using the variance inflation factor.

Results Poor sleep quality was reported by 52.5% of participants, while 82.5% experienced moderate to high stress (mean PSS=20±7.03). A significant positive correlation was observed between sleep quality and perceived stress (r=0.542, p<0.001), which remained after adjustment for digital device use (partial r=0.524, p<0.001). Digital device use was an independent predictor of both sleep quality (β=0.877, p=0.012) and perceived stress (β= 1.870, p=0.012). Extracurricular participation showed a borderline association with lower stress.

Conclusions Digital device overuse emerged as a significant and consistent independent predictor of both poor sleep quality and higher perceived stress. The stress-sleep association was robust after controlling for major covariates. These findings support targeted interventions targeting digital behaviour and sleep hygiene among medical students.