A study to compare the mental health status and psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on male and female undergraduate medical students

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical students and health-care professionals faced significant challenges, which had a negative impact on their mental health. Aims: This study aimed to assess the mental health of male and female undergraduate medical students and the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants and the Methodologies: After receiving institutional ethical clearance and the informed consent of the participants, this study was carried out on 591 medical students from a peripheral medical college in West Bengal during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. At intervals of 6 months, two surveys were conducted. The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 and Impact of Event Scale–Revised scale scores were evaluated in the Google Forms surveys. Using the t-test and the Chi-square test, the parameters of the two groups of students were compared. Results: On the initial assessment, neither group received a score that was significantly different from the other. Female students had significantly higher anxiety scores than male students on the second assessment. During the second pandemic wave, there was a significant gender difference in anxiety and stress levels (P = 0.001), with females experiencing higher levels of anxiety and stress. Conclusions: During the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, female undergraduate medical students had higher stress and anxiety levels than their male counterparts, according to the current study. Therefore, it is possible to draw the conclusion that the spread of the pandemic had a greater negative impact on the mental health of female undergraduate students.