[The international comparative study of the health status of medical university students in Lodz and Hanover].

During the academic year 2002/2003, we participated in a nation-wide research project aiming at the evaluation of the health status, lifestyle, social and material situation of medical university students. 285 surveys filled in by third-year students, including 167 Medical Faculty students, were subject to our analysis at the Medical University in Lodz. During the academic year 2003/2004, a similar research study was conducted among all third-year students of the Medical Faculty in Hanover. It was based on the translated questionnaire, which was adapted to the German realities. 281 surveys were qualified for further analysis. This paper presents selected elements of the health status of medical faculty students in both universities. They concern in particular the self-rated health status of students under study as well as the prevalence of certain disorders. Out of 167 medical faculty students in Lodz, 34 persons (20.4%) defined their health status as very good, 79 (47.3%) as good, 45 (27.0%) as average, and 8 persons (4.8%) thought it bad. Out of 281 medical faculty students in Hanover, 136 persons (48.4%) considered their health status to be very good, 129 (45.9%) good and 16 (5.7%) average. No student reported having a bad health status. The students from Lodz pointed out 991 disorders taking place during 4 weeks preceding the study (5.9 per student), whereas their German counterparts reported 2872 disorders (10.2 per student). The Lodz students cited most often: fatigue (83.8%), nervousness (73.1%), irritation (69.5%) and headaches (47.3%), while their Hanover colleagues suffered from fatigue (89.7%), headaches (80.4%), physical exhaustion in the evening (79.0%) and irritation (76.2%). 58.1% of the Lodz students never smoked, 12.6% smoked every day, and 9.6% smoked from time to time. 53.8% of the Hanover students never smoked, 14.6% smoked every day, and 20.6% smoked occasionally. Our anxiety was aroused by the reported frequent consumption of alcohol. Only 6.0% of the Lodz students did not drink at all, while it was 22.4% in Hanover. The share of everybody drinkers was similar in both samples (1.2% in Lodz, and 1.4% in Hanover). 32.9% of the Lodz students and 33.5% of this Hanover counterparts reported drinking alcohol at least once a week.