COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ANXIETY LEVELS IN HYPER-REACTORS AND NORMO-REACTORS IN MEDICAL STUDENTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

Background: Anxiety is a common psychological factor among medical students and may influence cardiovascular reactivity. This study aimed to compare anxiety levels between hyper-reactors and normo-reactors and to evaluate gender-based differences. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 160 undergraduate medical students. Anxiety was assessed using Sinha’s Comprehensive Anxiety Test (SCAT). Cardiovascular reactivity to cold pressor test was evaluated using standard protocol, and participants were categorized as normo-reactors or hyper-reactors. Resting blood pressure was measured and participants were classified into normotensive, prehypertensive, and hypertensive categories. Results: Females had significantly higher SCAT scores compared to males (24.28 ± 15.48 vs 17.01 ± 14.11; p = 0.001). The majority of participants were normo-reactors, with 80% females and 86.95% males, while hyper-reactors constituted 20% females and 13.04% males. No significant difference in SCAT scores was observed between hyper-reactors and normo-reactors within females (22.71 ± 13.37 vs 24.67 ± 16.03; p = 0.67) or males (18.41 ± 16.12 vs 16.80 ± 13.89; p = 0.71). Most participants were normotensive (93.2%), with 6.17% prehypertensive and 0.6% hypertensive, the latter observed only in males. Conclusion: Although females exhibited higher anxiety levels, no significant association was found between anxiety and cardiovascular reactivity. The majority of students were normo-reactors and normotensive.