British Journal of Medical Practitioners, 2019, Volume 12 Number 1 BJMP.org BJMP 2019;12(1):a003 The health anxiety in medical students, a comparative study from Taif University: Medical student’s syndrome revisited. Samiyah Siraj Althagafi, Maram Hassan AlSufyani, Ola Ahmed Shawky, Omayma Kamel Afifi, Naif Alomairi & Ibrahim Masoodi. Abstract Background - Medical students sometimes develop fears related to the diseases they study during their pre-clinical and clinical years known as “Medical Student Syndrome” (MSS). Methods - This comparative study estimated fears related to disease among medical students and compared them with age and gender- matched non-medical students enrolled in various other colleges of Taif university in the western region of Saudi Arabia. The data was collected using the Hypochondria/Health Anxiety Questionnaire. Results - The data on 195 medical (95 pre-clinical) and 200 non-medical students were analyzed. The fears related to the disease was higher among medical students (17.4%) compared to non-medical students (15%), but it did not reach significant levels. In the subgroup analysis, MSS among pre-clinical students was higher (21.1%) than among students in higher classes (14%), and the difference was significant (p<0.05). The medical students were observed to have more often feared about diabetes, hypertension, headache and cancer compared to non-medical students. However, the non-medical group had significantly higher visits to doctors due to the fears about their diseases compared to medical students (p<0.05). Conclusion - MSS was frequent among medical students compared to their peers in non-medical colleges, but it did not reach significant levels. However, the non-medical students were found to seek medical advice more often than medical students. Reassurance and discussion about this syndrome may go a long way to prevent this phenomenon among medical students. Introduction Medical Student Syndrome (MSS) is a unique type of hypochondriasis which specifically causes health anxiety related to the diseases medical students study during their medical training. 1 However, this phenomenon does not translate into an increased number of consultations differentiating it from hypochondriasis. 2 Nevertheless, the common denominator in both conditions is that the affected person persistently experiences the belief or fear of having severe disease, due to the misinterpretation of physical symptoms. 3 The medical examination on multiple occasions does not identify medical conditions that fully account for the physical symptoms or the person’s concerns about the disease, making it a diagnosis of exclusion. Unfortunately, the fears frequently persist among medical students despite medical reassurance, affecting their concentration during their training. 4 Earlier studies have shown a higher prevalence of MSS in various medical schools, but recent studies show a declining trend. While Howes et al 5 demonstrated that 70% of medical students have groundless medical fears during their studies, Weck et al, 6 on the contrary, recorded the prevalence of health anxiety only among 5-30 % of study participants. One of the reasons ascribed to this could be that earlier studies, showing a high prevalence of MSS, were uncontrolled. Also, age-matched peers were not used as controls in some studies, and no direct interviews had been conducted. 7,8 Methodological issues in previous data have led to inaccurate interpretations and over- generalization of findings. For example, the high emotional disturbance in medical students resulted from comparisons made with the general population, rather than with other students of their age. 9-11 We were prompted to conduct this study because the magnitude of MSS is variable from region to region, and in this study we compared medical students with their peers, studying in different colleges of Taif University to avoid observational bias. Methods This study was carried out from September 2017 to June 2018 at the female campus of Taif University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in medical (pre-clinical and clinical years) and non-medical colleges in accordance with research guidelines of the College of Medicine, Taif University, KSA. Inclusion criteria Age and gender-matched students were selected for inclusion in the study. These included: 1. Female medical students from the second to the sixth grades enrolled in the College of Medicine, Taif University, KSA. Research Article