THE EFFECT OF OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON MENTAL HEALTH IN MEDICAL STUDENTS

Abstract

Regular moderate physical activity is well known as a beneficial factor for maintaining and improving individual general health including mental health, especially in adolescents during crisis. The aim of the study was to assess the levels of anxiety, depression and perceived stress and their connection with the weekly amount of physical activity in junior medical students during December 2020 COVID 19 restrictive public health measures. The investigation was carried out on 73 medical students (57 females and 16 males) aged 20-22 years, from Medical Faculty, University "Ss. Cyril and Methodius", in Skopje. They answered questionnaires containing biographic data, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and International physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ) by e-mail. Female medical students showed significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression compared to males (p0.05). Pearson correlation between levels of depression and the amount of vigorous physical activity in males was r = - 0.898 while in females it was r= - 0.3251. There was moderate to strong negative correlation between levels of anxiety, depression and perceived stress and the amount of performed moderate physical activity in male medical students. Physical activity could have beneficial effects in male medical students