ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF MEDICAL STUDENTS AND THE IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: WHAT IS DECISIVE?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11603/1811-2471.2025.v.i3.15558Keywords:
students, lockdown, COVID-19, saliva cortisol, ethnicity, sex, end-of-academic year university grade dataAbstract
SUMMARY. Medical students’ education is commonly associated with stress, which is a prevalent problem affecting both psychological well-being and academic performance. This study aimed to investigate the impact of ethnicity, gender, and age on students’ academic performance during the first COVID-19 lockdown and after returning to the regular learning format.
Material and Methods. The study involved 1st–6th year students of Ternopil National Medical University who, during the lockdown (March–May 2020), were isolated in dormitories (international students from India [group 1] and African countries [group 2]) or Ukrainian students who stayed at home [group 3]). Salivary cortisol levels and academic performance, based on the end-of-academic-year university average grade data in 2020 and 2021, were assessed.
Results. A total of 769 students participated in the study, 399 [51.89 %] men and 370 [48.11 %] women, including 439 Indian [57.09 %], 290 African [37.71 %], and 40 Ukrainian students [5.20 %]. The mean age was 20.61±2.19 years (range 17–29), and subgroups were defined as 17–19, 20–24, and 25–29 years. Academic performance in 2021 was higher compared to 2020 among Indian and African students, while Ukrainian students showed the highest average grades, but with only a tendency for an increase. The same pattern was observed among women. The mean performance in the overall cohort was highest among students aged 25–29 years. In the 17–19 and 20–24 age groups, Ukrainian students had higher performance compared to Indian and African peers. However, among Ukrainian students aged 20–24, performance was lower than in the 17–19 age group (4.62±0.43 vs 4.26±0.30 in 2020, and 4.68±0.33 vs 4.40±0.28 in 2021).
Overall, 62.03 % of participants had cortisol concentrations above the median, and 17.43 % exceeded the 95th percentile. Only Indian women had significantly higher cortisol levels compared to men of the same ethnic group. High cortisol levels were associated with significantly lower academic performance (except for Indian students). Among men, academic performance in 2021 was higher in Indian and African groups regardless of cortisol level. Among women from all countries, cortisol levels above the 95th percentile showed only a tendency toward improvement.
Conclusions. Our study demonstrates that high-intensity stress caused by lockdown is associated with decreased academic performance and depends on ethnicity, gender (female), and age. Thus, sociocultural factors and the learning format have a significant impact on medical students’ academic success.
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