ArticleBMC medical education2026
The spectrum of somatic and psychological distress: a novel cross-disciplinary analysis of medical and non-medical students in the academic landscape.
Article in BMC medical education, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Physiological Responses During Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgery and Perceived Stress Among Ophthalmology Trainees: A Cross-Sectional Study.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Article
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8 authors.
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Abstract
objectiveSomatic symptom disorder (SSD) is a mental health condition characterized by an excessive focus on physical symptoms that causes significant distress and impairs functioning. University students frequently experience SSD, which can undermine academic performance and well-being. We compared the screening-based prevalence of probable SSD and somatic symptom burden between medical and non-medical university students.
methodsIn this cross-sectional study, 581 students (284 medical/allied-health, 297 non-medical) were recruited from Mashhad universities. Validated self-report instruments, the Somatic Symptom Scale-8 (SSS-8) and the Somatic Symptom Disorder–B Criteria Scale (SSD-12), assessed somatic symptom burden and related cognitive-affective distress.
resultsThe SSD-12 criterion identified a significantly higher proportion of non-medical students meeting the SSD-12 threshold (29.6%) than of medical/allied health students (17.8%; p = 0.008). In contrast, SSS-8 criteria yielded a lower somatic symptom burden overall (non-significant difference: 7.4% vs. 4.3%, p = 0.30). Non-medical students had higher mean SSD-12 total scores (11.23 ± 6.30) than medical/allied students (9.56 ± 7.73, p < 0.001). This difference was reflected across all SSD-12 subscales (p < 0.001 each). Among medical/allied students, those in clinical training scored higher on both SSS-8 and SSD-12 than pre-clinical students (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in scores by gender or marital status in either group.
conclusionNon-medical students showed a higher screening-based prevalence of probable SSD and somatic symptom burden than their medical/allied-health peers, suggesting greater health-related anxiety and maladaptive symptom focus. University health services should consider targeted mental health interventions addressing health anxiety and illness behaviors, especially for non-medical students. Early screening in vulnerable groups may prevent the development of chronic symptoms.
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