Risk of Eating Disorders (EDs) among Iranian Medical Students: Perceived Social Support (PSS) and COVID-19-Related Anxiety

Abstract

Background: Eating disorders (EDs) are characterized by severe difficulties with eating behavior and emotions, increasing among medical students. Objectives: Since social support can play a preventive role, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between these conditions considering COVID-19-related anxiety. Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022 at Alborz medical science university, Iran, on 282 medical students who were selected randomly. The Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26), Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS), and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) questionnaire were used to collect data. The chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were utilized via SPSS software version 23. The level of significance is below 0.05. Results: In this study, 153 (51.1%) participants were men. The average age (SD) of respondents was 22.06 (1.65). The prevalence of medical students was 17% at risk for eating disorders. Logistic regression indicated that a low level of perceived social support (OR, 14.91; 95% CI, 3.49 – 63.64), a moderate level of COVID-19-related anxiety (OR, 6.36; 95% CI, 2.96 – 13.63), being obese (OR, 6.31; 95% CI, 1.75 – 22.68), and being female (OR, 5.58; 95% CI, 2.13 – 14.62) were significantly related to being at risk of EDs. Conclusions: Based on the results, the high prevalence of tendency to eating disorders should be taken seriously among medical students. Strong evidence was provided regarding the need for screening and enhancing the perceived social support of medical students.