PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY

Abstract

Background: Academic performance among medical students may be influenced by multiple aspects of physical and psychological health. However, evidence on the relationship between these health-related characteristics and academic performance among medical students in Kazakhstan remains limited.Objective: To examine the associations between selected physical and psychological health-related characteristics and academic performance among medical students in Kazakhstan and to compare these associations between students at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) and Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University (KazNMU).Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 750 undergraduate medical students in the first to third years of study, including 400 students from KazNU and 350 from KazNMU. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire assessing self-rated physical health, chronic diseases, anxiety, fatigue, and sleep quality. Academic performance was assessed using grade point average (GPA). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize health-related characteristics, and Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated separately for each university.Results: Self-rated physical health was positively associated with GPA among students at both KazNU (r = 0.45, p < 0.001) and KazNMU (r = 0.39, p < 0.001). Sleep quality also showed positive associations with GPA (r = 0.36, p < 0.001 and r = 0.32, p < 0.001, respectively). In contrast, chronic diseases (r = −0.34, p < 0.001 and r = −0.42, p < 0.001), anxiety symptoms (r = −0.41, p < 0.001 and r = −0.47, p < 0.001), and frequent fatigue (r = −0.33, p < 0.001 and r = −0.39, p < 0.001) were inversely associated with GPA. The direction of all associations was consistent across the two universities.Conclusion: Several physical and psychological health-related characteristics were associated with academic performance among medical students, with a similar pattern observed across the two universities. These findings support considering students’ health as one component of academic functioning. Longitudinal and multivariable studies are needed to clarify temporal relationships and determine whether these associations persist after accounting for potential confounding factors.