Associação entre o uso não prescrito de nootrópicos e qualidade do sono em estudantes de medicina

Abstract

The proportion of poor sleep quality among medical students is high when compared to the university students from other areas of studying. The use of non-prescribed nootropics is na often practice among medical students who seek to improve their performance in their studies and in their life in general. Even with the increase in publications about this topic, there are still gaps in the area, especially in relation to the impact of the use of nootropics on sleep quality, the relationship between the association of sleep quality, and students’ perception of the course, the impact is about the satisfaction with the professional choice, the acquisition of skills in the course, as well as the feeling of dropping out of the course. Objective: Analysing the quality of sleep of the medical students at a private university and its association with the non- prescription use of nootropics (methylphenidate, lisdexamfetamine and modafinil). Methods: The Sleep quality was analyzed by using the Pittsburgh questionnaire. A sociodemographic questionnaire was also used to identify the psychosocial characteristics of the participants and the use of nootropics. Results: 362 students answered the questionnaire, which corresponds to 30% of the summing up of the university. the medium levels of global PSQI in students with recent unprescribed use of nootropics was similar to that observed for students who had never used nootropics (7.76 vs. 7.73, ; P=0.96). The PSQI analysis by specific domain also showed no statistically significant difference for any domain. It was observed that 23.6% of women and 33,9% of men had good sleep quality, with this difference being statistically significant. The use of 6 doses or more of alcoholic beverages was related to higher levels of PSQI (7.47 vs. 8.19, ; P=0.047). Students with poor sleep quality had less satisfaction with their professional choice {OR (95%CI) 1.84 (1.09-3.11)}, lower perception of skills acquisition {OR (95%CI) 1.96 (1.16-3.31)} and a higher proportion of thoughts related to dropping out of the course { OR (95%CI) 0.46 (0.27-0.77)}.Recent and non-prescription use of nootropics was associated with marijuana use and the desire to drop out of the course. Conclusion: Sleep quality was worse in females and in those with higher alcohol intake, and was associated with lower satisfaction with professional choice and desire to drop out of the course. No association was found between non-prescription use of nootropics and sleep quality in medical students.