Prevalence of Somatic Symptom Disorder in Students of Tertiary Educational Institutes in Pakistan and Its Correlation With Academic Performance and Sleep Quality

Abstract

Objective: Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is a disorder characterized by several somatic symptoms without medical explanation. SSD has been a burden on healthcare for ages and its awareness is not widespread among the healthcare professionals or population. This study aims to find out the prevalence of SSD among university students in Pakistan and whether it is affecting their academic performance or sleep quality. Methods: It is an observational study conducted in Pakistan in June 2023. A sample size of 381 participants was used. Patient Health Questionnaire-15 was used as SSD diagnosis, Academic Performance Scale for measuring academic performance, and Functional Outcome of Sleep Questionnaire for rating sleep quality. SPSS software 27.0 was used as a statistical tool for analysis using descriptive statistic and tests like frequency, chi-square, and crosstabs. Results: The study found a 48.8% prevalence of SSD among Pakistani students, with higher rates in females (65.6%), and no age-related correlation (p=0.341). Furthermore, the relation between academic performance of students with SSD was significant (p<0.001), whereas sleep quality was unaffected by SSD (p=0.281). Conclusion: The frequency of SSD is approximately 48.8% among the students in Pakistan. This high prevalence has been recorded to negatively affect the academic performance of the students and is more prevalent in females than males. However, it is not related to age and it does not cause any sleep disturbance. Future studies should focus on the risk factors of SSD and better treatment plans for effective control and awareness of this disorder.