The Epidemiology of Nomophobia and Insomnia Among Medical Students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Background Nomophobia and insomnia are common public health problems. The prevalence of moderate nomophobia is high among medical students in Saudi Arabia. Also, the prevalence of insomnia is high among the Saudi population. The relationship between nomophobia and insomnia is still unclear. So, the aim of this study is to investigate the epidemiology of nomophobia and insomnia among medical students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and to examine the relationship between them. Subjects and methods This is a cross-sectional study conducted among 157 medical students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Data was collected by convenience sample and electronic questionnaire using Google form which was disseminated on social media. Nomophobia was assessed by a validated Nomophobia questionnaire (NMP-Q) and insomnia was assessed by Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Results Most of the participants were females (78.3%) and the mean age of the study participants was 23.52 +/- 2.61 years. The mean nomophobia score was 64.2 +/- 19.5 and the mean insomnia score was 11.52 +/- 4.31. A total of 58.6% of participants had a moderate level of nomophobia. In addition, 53.5% of participants had subthreshold insomnia and 28.7% had moderate insomnia. The study results did not reveal a significant relationship between nomophobia and insomnia. The academic year of the medical student is a significant risk factor for nomophobia. Conclusion The study findings suggest that a significant proportion of medical students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, suffer from nomophobia and insomnia. No significant association was found between nomophobia and insomnia. These findings highlight the urgent need to investigate factors that might contribute to these problems and developing interventions for nomophobia and insomnia among medical students.