ISSN 0303-5212
 

Original Research 
RMJ. 2020; 45(2): 479-482


Do Psychostimulants impact academic grades? A cross-sectional survey on medical students of Karachi, Pakistan

Noor e Sabah Saleem, Aneeta Khoso, Saima Zainab, Rabab Zehra.

Abstract
Objective: To determine prevalence of use of psychostimulants among medical students in a private medical college in Karachi and to assess the association of their intake and other independent variables with the examination grades of the students.
Methodology: This cross-sectional survey was conducted from April to July, 2018, on 299 medical students from 1st to 4th year MBBS. A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was used. Purposive sampling technique was employed for recruitment of the students.
Results: Out of 299 students, 57.5% used psychostimulants, mostly for duration of 1-5 years. Caffeine was the most commonly used psychostimulants, followed by nicotine. Most of them used them to stay alert and aroused during their exams. Students studying in 3rd year were using psychostimulants more often compared to other years. We did not find any associations between psychostimulant use and their impact on students’ grades. Increase in the student's age and being a female increased the marks of the students, with each year increase of year of education, there was a decrease in student’s marks.
Conclusion: This study suggests the interplay of factors other than psychostimulants in the academic grades of medical students. As students grew older, their grades decreased, being a female increased marks more compared to being a male student.

Key words: Psychostimulant, Medical students, Academic grades, Cross sectional survey, Pakistan.


 
ARTICLE TOOLS
Abstract
PDF Fulltext
How to cite this articleHow to cite this article
Citation Tools
Related Records
 Articles by Noor e Sabah Saleem
Articles by Aneeta Khoso
Articles by Saima Zainab
Articles by Rabab Zehra
on Google
on Google Scholar

How to Cite this Article
Pubmed Style

Saleem NeS, Khoso A, Zainab S, Zehra R. Do Psychostimulants impact academic grades? A cross-sectional survey on medical students of Karachi, Pakistan. RMJ. 2020; 45(2): 479-482.


Web Style

Saleem NeS, Khoso A, Zainab S, Zehra R. Do Psychostimulants impact academic grades? A cross-sectional survey on medical students of Karachi, Pakistan. https://www.rmj.org.pk/?mno=69129 [Access: December 06, 2023].


AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Saleem NeS, Khoso A, Zainab S, Zehra R. Do Psychostimulants impact academic grades? A cross-sectional survey on medical students of Karachi, Pakistan. RMJ. 2020; 45(2): 479-482.



Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Saleem NeS, Khoso A, Zainab S, Zehra R. Do Psychostimulants impact academic grades? A cross-sectional survey on medical students of Karachi, Pakistan. RMJ. (2020), [cited December 06, 2023]; 45(2): 479-482.



Harvard Style

Saleem, N. e. S., Khoso, . A., Zainab, . S. & Zehra, . R. (2020) Do Psychostimulants impact academic grades? A cross-sectional survey on medical students of Karachi, Pakistan. RMJ, 45 (2), 479-482.



Turabian Style

Saleem, Noor e Sabah, Aneeta Khoso, Saima Zainab, and Rabab Zehra. 2020. Do Psychostimulants impact academic grades? A cross-sectional survey on medical students of Karachi, Pakistan. Rawal Medical Journal, 45 (2), 479-482.



Chicago Style

Saleem, Noor e Sabah, Aneeta Khoso, Saima Zainab, and Rabab Zehra. "Do Psychostimulants impact academic grades? A cross-sectional survey on medical students of Karachi, Pakistan." Rawal Medical Journal 45 (2020), 479-482.



MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

Saleem, Noor e Sabah, Aneeta Khoso, Saima Zainab, and Rabab Zehra. "Do Psychostimulants impact academic grades? A cross-sectional survey on medical students of Karachi, Pakistan." Rawal Medical Journal 45.2 (2020), 479-482. Print.



APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Saleem, N. e. S., Khoso, . A., Zainab, . S. & Zehra, . R. (2020) Do Psychostimulants impact academic grades? A cross-sectional survey on medical students of Karachi, Pakistan. Rawal Medical Journal, 45 (2), 479-482.