title: Health-related quality of life of students from a private medical school in Brazil.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and to describe factors associated with its variation among undergraduate medical students at a Brazilian private medical school.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study in a sample (n=180) of medical students at a private medical school in Salvador, Brazil, stratified by year of medical course. Data about age, sex, year of course, physical activity, sleepiness, headaches, participation in a student loan program supported by the Brazilian government (FIES) and living arrangements were collected using a self-administered form. HRQOL was assessed by using a Brazilian Portuguese version of the SF-36 form. The eight domains of SF-36 and the Physical Component (PCS) and Mental Component (MCS) Summaries scales were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The medical students showed poor HRQOL, mainly because of the mental component. Lower mean scores were found among those with FIES support, females, those suffering from sleepiness, headaches and lacking physical activity. No clear trend was observed in the variation of the SF-36 mean scores according to the year of medical school. However, students in the fifth year of the course had the highest HRQOL mean scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Health-related quality of life of students at this private medical school was poor, mainly because of its mental component. Lower HRQOL was associated with FIES support, females, sleepiness, headaches and lack of regular physical activity. Higher scores were found among fifth year students.
authors.affiliation: Department of Humanities, Bahiana School of Medicine and Public Health, Brazil.
authors.forename: Liliane
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lins
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Federal University of Bahia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: Department of Humanities, Bahiana School of Medicine and Public Health, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marta S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Menezes
authors.affiliation: Department of Humanities, Bahiana School of Medicine and Public Health, Brazil.
authors.forename: Larissa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Porto-Silva
authors.affiliation: Department of Humanities, Bahiana School of Medicine and Public Health, Brazil.
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Damasceno
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017149:Private Sector; D011788:Quality of Life; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013337:Students, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Quality of life; government financing; medical schools; medical students; training support