Background: Lifestyle has significant effects on grade point average (GPA). Lifestyle and GPA are majorly interconnected, and the way students live affects their GPA. This study aims to find relationship between lifestyle factors such as depression, anxiety, and physical activity (PA) with academic achievement.
Methods: This analytic cross-sectional study was conducted in a largest public sector university in Saudi Arabia from October 2019 to February 2020. A survey was distributed to the college students of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, and applied medical sciences using quota sampling technique, and all students who agreed on participation were included (N = 406). Data were collected using three self-administered questionnaires: Generalized anxiety disorder-7, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Analysis of variance was done to assess the association of study variables. A test with p-value < 0.05 was considered to be significant
Results: The response rate was 90%. The study did not find a significant relation between depression, anxiety, or PA, and GPA. However, analysis revealed a significant association between components of lifestyle with demographics. The female participants showed higher rates of depression and anxiety than male participants did (p = 0.008, 0.023, respectively). In the study population, younger students were found more depressed than older students were (p = 0.025). Additionally, pharmacy students reported higher depression than other health professional students did (p = 0.042) and students with both alive parents had lower rates of depression (p = 0.025).
Conclusion: Although study did not find any association between the level of PA, psychosocial status and academic achievement; however, a significant association between the genders, age, colleges, and alive parents with healthy lifestyle. Longitudinal studies with multiple institutions are recommended.
Key words: Lifestyle, academic achievement, depression
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