Comparison of Baseline and Test Day Cardiovascular Parameters, Anxiety Scores and Coffee Consumption Among Medical Students Undergoing Objective Structured Clinical Examinations in Jordan

Hussein Alhawari,1 Sameeha Alshelleh,1 Osama Alzoubi,1 Asim N Khanfar,1 Reem Akiely,1 Bayan Abdallah,1 Nada Hajjaj,1 Saja Alkhalaileh,1 Yousef Khader2 1Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan; 2Department of Public Health, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, JordanCorrespondence: Hussein Alhawari, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan, Email h.alhawari@ju.edu.joIntroduction: Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are considered an integral part of the assessment process of many schools of medicine worldwide. Close monitoring by examiners, scrutinized interactions with patients, and fear of the unknown, among other factors have been reported to cause psychological stress among students during the examinations period. In this study, we aimed to assess changes in cardiovascular parameters, anxiety scores, and lifestyle patterns of medical students during their OSCEs as compared to their baseline.Materials and Methods: We recruited healthy medical students from our institution’s medical school. General demographics, academic, and baseline lifestyle characteristics were collected 1– 2 months before the OSCE day. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale was used to measure anxiety symptoms. Data related to coffee consumption in addition to systolic, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate measurements were collected both at baseline and on OSCE day.Results: This study included 325 students (144 (44.3%) males and 181 (55.7%) females). The mean systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate measurements were significantly higher on OSCE day as compared to the baseline. In addition, the daily consumption of coffee increased significantly during OSCE day as compared to the baseline. Although the anxiety score increased during OSCE day compared to the baseline, the difference was not statistically significant. However, the change in anxiety score (OSCE day – baseline) was significantly higher in females compared to males.Conclusion: In our study, we observed significant increases in blood pressure, heart rate, and coffee intake on the day of the test compared to baseline measurements. These findings underscore the significance of implementing measures to reduce the harmful effects of stress on students during exam preparations and medical school assessments.Keywords: blood pressure, anxiety, stress, objective structured clinical examination, OSCE