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Background-Aim: Medical students have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to their educational program, which comprises theoretical knowledge and also clinical duties, making them vulnerable to viral exposures and possibly affecting their everyday life. The aim of this study was to explore changes in sleep and mental health parameters among medical students in Greece during the second year of the pandemic.

Methods: This cross-sectional study comprised students of all medical schools in Greece (n = 7), using an anonymous online survey. Participants completed the following questionnaires: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Statistical analysis was conducted with the use of SPSS v.26 (IBM SPSS, Armonk NY, USA).

Results: Out of the 562 received responses, 559 met the inclusion criteria. The largest proportion of the respondents came from 4th-year (27.8%) and the majority of the sample were females (69.8%). Only 5.9% of the participants reported having been infected by SARS-COV-2. Most of the respondents experienced insomnia (65.9%, mean AIS score: 7.59 ± 4.24), poor sleep quality (52.4%, mean PSQI score: 6.6 ± 3.25) and increased fatigue (48.5%, mean 35.82 ± 11.74). Moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety (mean 9.04 ± 5.66) and depression (mean 9.36 ± 6.15) were noted. Suicidal ideation was found in 16.7% of the sample, while use of sleeping pills in the previous month was reported by 8.8% (n = 47). Further analysis revealed independent associations …