Comparison of Anxiety levels among Medical & Engineering Students

Abstract

Background: Medical and Engineering educational programs are widespread and difficult, which frequently leads to anxiety. The basic objective of this study was to compare the anxiety levels among medical & engineering students. Methodology: A cross sectional study was carried out among students of different medical & engineering universities of Karachi from August 2018 to February 2019. A simple stratified sampling technique was used, 250 medical students and 150 engineering students including both genders participated in the study. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of socio demographic profile, details on anxiety episodes, causes of anxiety, physical symptoms and ways to overcome anxiety was utilized in this study. Results: Findings showed that among 250 medical students 160(64%) had anxiety out of which 49% were moderate and 15% were in severe anxiety.  On the other hand, 54 (36%) engineering students had anxiety. Social interactions (45%) and university/work (35%) were the prime cause of anxiety as indicated by study population. Conclusion: Significant differences were shown between medical and engineering students. Our study suggests that medical students experience more anxiety than engineering students.