Dietary and smoking habits during the exam period and their effect on the academic achievement among Syrian medical students
Abstract Background Dietary habits are crucial for maintaining overall health and have been shown to impact academic performance. However, little research has been conducted on the specific eating, drinking, and smoking habits during the exam period and their effect on academic performance. Therefor...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2024-01-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04950-6 |
| _version_ | 1797355720982659072 |
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| author | Anas Bitar Fady Barakat Angie Hawat Bayan Alsaid |
| author_facet | Anas Bitar Fady Barakat Angie Hawat Bayan Alsaid |
| author_sort | Anas Bitar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Dietary habits are crucial for maintaining overall health and have been shown to impact academic performance. However, little research has been conducted on the specific eating, drinking, and smoking habits during the exam period and their effect on academic performance. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate dietary and smoking habits and their relationship with academic performance among medical students at Damascus University. Findings from this study can inform interventions to improve both dietary habits and academic performance. Methods A cross-sectional design was used to investigate the association between dietary habits during the exam period and academic performance among 608 medical students. Data were collected using a self-administered paper-based questionnaire that was randomly distributed across multiple classes. The statistical analysis employed Spearman’s rank correlation and multiple linear regression to examine the relationship between the different amounts of diet behaviour during the exams and the reported average students’ grades from the last two semesters. The regression model was adjusted for age, sex, residency type, and residency partners. Results In both Spearman's rank correlation and multiple linear regression analyses, we observed consistent negative associations between specific dietary habits and self-reported average grades. These included daily consumption of tea (B = -0.334, p = 0.022), instant coffee (B = -0.682, p = 0.001), and weekly fast food consumption (B = -0.583, p = 0.038). Notably, traditional coffee was found to be significant in the Spearman analysis but did not exhibit significance in the regression analysis. Furthermore, the regression analysis revealed a negative association between water pipe consumption and academic performance (B = -0.700, p = 0.049). No significant association was observed between other dietary habits, cigarette smoking, and academic performance. Conclusions The study highlights a negative, but weak, association between academic achievement and specific dietary habits during the exam period. However, further longitudinal studies are needed to establish causal relationships. Additionally, the study suggests exploring the impact of other habits such as study and sleeping habits, which may have a more significant impact on academic achievement. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:15:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-588acfa8e1a94eb6a790c51e284b030d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6920 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:15:07Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-588acfa8e1a94eb6a790c51e284b030d2024-01-14T12:27:12ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202024-01-0124111010.1186/s12909-023-04950-6Dietary and smoking habits during the exam period and their effect on the academic achievement among Syrian medical studentsAnas Bitar0Fady Barakat1Angie Hawat2Bayan Alsaid3Faculty of Medicine, Damascus UniversityFaculty of Medicine, Damascus UniversityFaculty of Medicine, Damascus UniversityLaboratory of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Damascus UniversityAbstract Background Dietary habits are crucial for maintaining overall health and have been shown to impact academic performance. However, little research has been conducted on the specific eating, drinking, and smoking habits during the exam period and their effect on academic performance. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate dietary and smoking habits and their relationship with academic performance among medical students at Damascus University. Findings from this study can inform interventions to improve both dietary habits and academic performance. Methods A cross-sectional design was used to investigate the association between dietary habits during the exam period and academic performance among 608 medical students. Data were collected using a self-administered paper-based questionnaire that was randomly distributed across multiple classes. The statistical analysis employed Spearman’s rank correlation and multiple linear regression to examine the relationship between the different amounts of diet behaviour during the exams and the reported average students’ grades from the last two semesters. The regression model was adjusted for age, sex, residency type, and residency partners. Results In both Spearman's rank correlation and multiple linear regression analyses, we observed consistent negative associations between specific dietary habits and self-reported average grades. These included daily consumption of tea (B = -0.334, p = 0.022), instant coffee (B = -0.682, p = 0.001), and weekly fast food consumption (B = -0.583, p = 0.038). Notably, traditional coffee was found to be significant in the Spearman analysis but did not exhibit significance in the regression analysis. Furthermore, the regression analysis revealed a negative association between water pipe consumption and academic performance (B = -0.700, p = 0.049). No significant association was observed between other dietary habits, cigarette smoking, and academic performance. Conclusions The study highlights a negative, but weak, association between academic achievement and specific dietary habits during the exam period. However, further longitudinal studies are needed to establish causal relationships. Additionally, the study suggests exploring the impact of other habits such as study and sleeping habits, which may have a more significant impact on academic achievement.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04950-6Academic achievementDietary habitsEating habitsDrinking habitsSmoking habitsMedical students |
| spellingShingle | Anas Bitar Fady Barakat Angie Hawat Bayan Alsaid Dietary and smoking habits during the exam period and their effect on the academic achievement among Syrian medical students BMC Medical Education Academic achievement Dietary habits Eating habits Drinking habits Smoking habits Medical students |
| title | Dietary and smoking habits during the exam period and their effect on the academic achievement among Syrian medical students |
| title_full | Dietary and smoking habits during the exam period and their effect on the academic achievement among Syrian medical students |
| title_fullStr | Dietary and smoking habits during the exam period and their effect on the academic achievement among Syrian medical students |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dietary and smoking habits during the exam period and their effect on the academic achievement among Syrian medical students |
| title_short | Dietary and smoking habits during the exam period and their effect on the academic achievement among Syrian medical students |
| title_sort | dietary and smoking habits during the exam period and their effect on the academic achievement among syrian medical students |
| topic | Academic achievement Dietary habits Eating habits Drinking habits Smoking habits Medical students |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04950-6 |
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