Health-Related Quality of Life of Undergraduate Students at the School of Medicine of Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, 2013
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Abstract
Introduction: Quality of life is a multidimensional term associated with physical and mental health. The objective was to evaluate the health-related quality of life in undergraduate students.
Methods: This descriptive study of prevalence was conducted at the School of Medicine of the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana by means of surveys that assessed sociodemographic variables and the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36).
Results: Out of 550 students, 436 were surveyed, with a mean age of 20.81 years, 294 (67.4%) female and 147 (65.8%) belonged to socioeconomic strata four and five According to the SF-36, in the general population, the physical function variable (90 ± 14) received the highest score, while vitality (50 ± 20) and emotional role (51 ± 44) variables received the lowest scores. There were differences between the variables of the SF-36 and both genders with regard to general health, vitality and mental health. Women had the lowest score (66 ± 20 vs. 74 ± 19; 47 ± 20 vs. 57 ± 20 and 60 ± 20 vs. 70 ± 18, respectively). Also, in relation to the university level, differences were observed regarding the social function between the basic cycle (first to fourth semesters) and the clinical cycle (fifth to eleventh semesters) (46 ± 14 and 62 ± 24 respectively).
Conclusions: This article shows the results of the first study that evaluates quality of life of students in this environment, showing greater affectation of mental health in women and of the social function in the basic undergraduate level.
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