[Effect of large-scale repair work on indoor formaldehyde levels upon and subjective symptoms in, medical students during gross anatomy dissection course]

Development of a Prediction Model for Subjective Physical Symptoms Induced During Systematic Anatomy Practice Among Medical Students

To prevent unpleasant symptoms in medical students during systematic anatomy practice, we aimed to develop and validate a model that predicts the likelihood of these symptoms occurring during practice based on risk factors prior to the start of practice. A total of 452 medical students enrolled from 2014 to 2018 were surveyed before and during practice, with questions regarding their sex, psychological status, subjective symptoms, and allergies. The sum of the scores concerning three subjective symptoms related to the eyes and three subjective symptoms related to the nose and fatigue were defined as the "eye-score" and "mask-score," respectively, and a total score of 7 or more was considered symptomatic. A prediction model was developed based on a generalized linear mixed model; the outcome variable in the model was symptoms during practice, and the explanatory variables were indoor formaldehyde concentration during practice, sex, and pre-practice status, such as the students' psychological state, eye-score, mask-score, and the presence of allergies. Five-fold cross-validation was used to assess internal validity and the prediction model was applied to 110 medical students enrolled in 2021 to assess external validity. The sensitivity and specificity by five-fold cross-validation were 0.843 and 0.314 for eye symptoms and 0.847 and 0.432 for mask symptoms. In the external validity assessment, the sensitivity and specificity were 0.889 and 0.207 for eye symptoms and 0.879 and 0.532 for mask symptoms. The prediction model developed in this study can be used in future measures aimed at preventing symptoms in students.

Comparison of subjective symptoms associated with exposure to low levels of formaldehyde between students enrolled and not enrolled in a gross anatomy course

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to evaluate students' subjective symptoms associated with exposure to low levels of formaldehyde (FA) during a gross anatomy course and to survey how the risk of subjective symptoms was affected by exposure to FA.

METHODS

We conducted three questionnaire surveys of 125 students enrolled in an anatomy course (FA exposure group) and 124 students not enrolled in the course (FA nonexposure group) before, during, and 6 months after the course. The questionnaire included questions inquiring about subjective symptoms, sex, age, and allergies. We analyzed differences in the prevalence of subjective symptoms in distinct survey periods. Furthermore, we analyzed the relationship between the subjective symptoms and exposure to FA after adjusting for allergy, sex, and age using multiple logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

The prevalence of some of the ocular, nasal, and nonspecific symptoms in the FA exposure group was low before the course, increased during the course and decreased 6 months after the course. A significant positive relationship was observed between exposure to FA and some symptoms after adjusting for allergy, sex, and age.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified some concrete symptoms associated with exposure to FA. We suggest that the exposure to low levels of FA influences students' subjective symptoms.

Changes in subjective symptoms and allergy state among medical students exposed to low-level formaldehyde 6 months after completion of a gross anatomy dissection course

OBJECTIVES

Our purpose was to clarify whether subjective symptoms of low-level formaldehyde (FA) exposure in medical students were transient or persistent and to investigate whether the allergy state changed as a result of exposure.

METHODS

We surveyed the prevalence of medical students' subjective symptoms and their allergy state before, during, and 6 months after completion of a gross anatomy dissection course by using two self-administrative questionnaires. Students completed the first survey at the end of the anatomy course to assess symptoms before and during the course. The second survey was completed 6 months after course completion.

RESULTS

The prevalence of most subjective symptoms was lower 6 months after the course than during the course. The major symptoms experienced during the course were eye fatigue, runny nose, and dry eyes. The most common symptom 6 months after the course was eye fatigue. Four students continued to experience symptoms even after course completion. Three students developed symptoms only after course completion. Forty-eight students had allergies before the course began and the severity of the allergies did not change after the course. Additionally, the prevalence of most subjective symptoms 6 months after the course was lower than before the course. The patterns of subjective symptoms in the three periods differed between male and female students; the prevalence of most subjective symptoms tended to be higher in females.

CONCLUSIONS

Subjective symptoms resulting from FA exposure during a gross anatomy course were transient and did not affect students' allergy states.