Objective: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of anxiety among medical students at a local university in Malaysia and to identify its associated factors.
Methods: Across-sectional study design was used. Three-hundred and ninety-six medical students at a local university in Malaysia were included in the study. A pre-tested, modified, self-administered Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) was used to screen for anxiety.
Results: Three-hundred-and-ninety-six out of 414 medical students participated (response rate 95.7%).38.4% of the medical students were found to have anxiety.
Conclusion: The overall prevalence of anxiety among medical students was high (38.4%). Factors found to be significantly associated with anxiety were gender, perceived level of pressure, year of study in medical school, ethnicity and depression(p<0.05).
Keywords: Anxiety, depression, medical students, prevalence