{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T02:03:37Z","timestamp":1792029817935,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,1]],"date-time":"2025-12-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764547200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["lww.com","ovid.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>BACKGROUND:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Medical Student Syndrome (MSS) was assessed in medical versus nonmedical students at Sultan Qaboos University.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>MATERIALS AND METHODS:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      In this cross-sectional study conducted in Muscat, Oman, 586 students (158 medical, 428 nonmedical) were selected using convenience sampling. The research was carried out between October 2024 and March 2025. Participants completed the Medical Student Syndrome Self-Explanatory Questionnaire, which assesses hypochondria and nosophobia. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including independent samples\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">t<\/jats:italic>\n                      -tests, Mann\u2013Whitney U tests, Chi-square tests, and effect size calculations.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>RESULTS:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The study found no significant differences in hypochondria and nosophobia scores between medical and nonmedical students (t = -0.991,\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 0.322, d = -0.093; t = -0.695,\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 0.487, d = -0.064, respectively). This challenges the traditional assumption that medical students exhibit greater health anxiety. Female students reported significantly higher health anxiety scores than their male counterparts across both groups (U = 7060.500, Z = \u22123.187,\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 0.001, r = 0.16 for hypochondria; U = 5798.000, Z = \u22125.011,\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt; 0.001, r = 0.27 for nosophobia). Additionally, health anxiety increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic for both medical and nonmedical students (t = -13.405,\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt; 0.001, d = -0.58).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>CONCLUSION:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Nonmedical students demonstrated similar levels of health-related anxiety. Gender differences and external stressors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, play a significant role in shaping health anxiety. As such, tailored intervention strategies and programs to address health anxiety among both medical and nonmedical students need to be implemented by psychologists and counselors in postgraduate settings.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.4103\/jehp.jehp_801_25","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,29]],"date-time":"2025-12-29T08:00:30Z","timestamp":1766995230000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1097\/lww.0000000000001000","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Medical student syndrome among medical and nonmedical students at Sultan Qaboos University: A comparative study of health anxiety"],"prefix":"10.4103","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Abdullah","family":"Al Lawati","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zinah","family":"Alhadithy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ghaida N.","family":"Al Abri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ghadeer S.","family":"Al Lawati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohammed I.","family":"Al Azri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tamadhir","family":"Al-Mahrouqi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Younis","family":"Al-Mufargi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Surgery, Medical City Hospital for Military and Security Services, Muscat, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hamed","family":"Al Sinawi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"276","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"R1-20251229","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9884","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18189884","article-title":"(2021). \u201cMedical Student Syndrome\u201d\u2014A myth or a real disease entity? 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