OBJECTIVES: To examine the prevalence of anxiety symptoms and its correlates among medical students in China.

METHODS: We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study among medical students from 33 universities in China in 2013-2014. They were interviewed using a questionnaire covering demographics, previous life experience, student characteristics, current life events in the past four weeks before survey, and Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). Anxiety symptoms were defined as have a SAS score of or over 50. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were done to identify potential correlates for the prevalence of anxiety symptoms.

RESULTS: Among 9010 undergraduate medical students (20.7±1.6 years [mean ± standard deviation]; 37.9% male), 13.4% had anxiety symptoms. Father’s poor education background (adjusted odds ratio,1.34; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-1.64 for primary school or below versus college or above) was associated with higher prevalence of anxiety symptoms among medical students. Students who retook college entrance (1.23;1.02-1.45) or majored in non-clinical/dentistry science such as pharmacy, preclinical science,medical technology,and medical laboratory science (1.35; 1.17-1.56) were more likely to have anxiety symptoms. Habitual smoking (2.13;1.55-2.93) and alcohol drinking (5.83;3.81-8.93), and hospitalization or medication for one week or more (1.70;1.41-2.04) in last four weeks also predisposed students to higher risk of anxiety symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that anxiety symptoms are highly prevalent among Chinese medical students. Future targeted prevention and intervention strategies might be implemented to tackle this issue based on potential correlates.