Keywords
Medical students
Health risk factors
Injury Risk
How to Cite
Abstract
Background: Medical students are exposed to intensive academic schedules, high stress, and irregular daily routines, which may affect lifestyle behaviors. Unhealthy diet, low physical activity, inadequate sleep, and high stress can impair physical and cognitive performance and increase the risk of accidental injuries due to fatigue.
This study aims to assess lifestyle behaviors and health risk factors among medical students in Tirana and to examine their potential implications for academic performance and injury risk.
Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive-analytical, cross-sectional, observational study including 213 students from the University of Medicine in Tirana. Data were collected through a structured online questionnaire (Google Forms). Descriptive statistics summarized sample characteristics, while Spearman’s correlation and logistic regression were used to examine associations between variables. Statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05.
Results: A total of 213 medical students participated, with a mean age of 20.2 ± 1.5 years and mean BMI of 22.6 ± 3.4 kg/m². Breakfast skipping (35.2%), insufficient fruit and vegetable consumption, insufficient sleep (≤6 h/night, 60.6%), and high academic stress were common. Only 24.9% reported daily physical activity. Health-promoting behaviors clustered together, with physical activity positively associated with regular breakfast, adequate sleep duration, and daily fruit consumption (p < 0.01). Conversely, unhealthy dietary patterns and insufficient sleep clustered and were linked to adverse health outcomes. Logistic regression confirmed physical activity, fruit consumption, and adequate sleep as protective factors (p ≤ 0.05).
Conclusions: Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors are common among medical students in Tirana. Irregular meals, poor dietary quality, low physical activity, and insufficient sleep may impair cognitive and physical performance and increase the risk of negative health outcomes. Targeted interventions and a purpose-built campus promoting healthy eating, exercise, and stress management are recommended to support student well-being.
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