Introduction:

The internship period for a medical student is complex and demands attention from medical schools regarding the mental health of these trainee doctors.

Objective:

Accordingly, the aim of this study was to assess factors associated with anxiety levels among medical interns.

Method:

A cross-sectional analytical study with a quantitative approach. Two questionnaires were applied, one with sociodemographic, personal and clinical data and the other consisting of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)

Results:

140 medical students were included in the research. Most of the students were 24 years old or under (67.9%); 70.7% were female. The majority were single (54.2%), and lived with family members (68.3%), while 31% reported having a religion. When correlating sociodemographic aspects to levels of anxiety, a much higher frequency of females with mild and moderate anxiety was identified than that of males (p = 0.0133). Personal and clinical aspects compared to the levels of anxiety showed a higher frequency of anxiety in all levels of students who claimed to undergo psychiatric or psychological therapy (p = 0.0110). Suffering from insomnia is related to moderate to severe anxiety (p <0.0001). Using substances that alter sleep is related to a higher frequency of students at all levels of anxiety (p = 0.0099). Satisfaction with academic performance is less related to anxiety levels (p = 0.0017). However, higher frequency in students with moderate to severe and severe anxiety were found in those who reported having already contemplated leaving medical school (p = 0.0239).

Conclusion:

This study revealed the sociodemographic, personal and clinical aspects and, consequently, the risk factors that are most frequently associated to anxiety in medical interns. Furthermore, it exposes the consequences that the variable levels of anxiety can have on an individual, and it is essential to adopt measures to combat and prevent the development of anxiety symptoms.

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