OBJECTIVE: To study the social-demographic profile of Medical students and assess the prevalence of stress symptoms in these students. METHODS: The Inventory of Symptoms of Stress for Adults of Lipp (ISSL) was used to evaluate the symptoms of stress and a questionnaire was applied to identify the participants' social-demographic characteristics. RESULTS: Two hundred Medical students registered at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), taking Basic and Clinical courses, were interviewed. Participants were predominantly male (54.5%), single (100%), born in Fortaleza (87%), mean age 21 years (SD = 2.3). Female students showed higher levels of stress' symptoms than male students, 30.1% and 19.6% respectively, (p < 0.001). The prevalence of symptoms of stress was 49.7% and students attending the fourth semester showed the highest levels of symptoms (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The conclusion is that Medical students at UFC have levels of stress similar to those reported in international studies.
Stress; medical students
