Use of Cognitive Enhancers by Portuguese Medical Students: Do Academic Challenges Matter?
Autor(a) principal: | |
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Data de Publicação: | 2022 |
Outros Autores: | |
Tipo de documento: | Artigo |
Idioma: | eng |
Título da fonte: | Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
Texto Completo: | https://www.actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/14220 |
Resumo: | Introduction: Nonmedical use of prescription drugs and other substances for cognitive enhancement in the academic environment has been documented in several studies. However, the prevalence among Portuguese university students is unknown. We aimed to assess the prevalence and academic contexts of the use of cognitive enhancers of a sample of Portuguese medical students.Material and Methods: An online questionnaire about the use of cognitive enhancers was completed by 1156 participants, who were either medical students (group 1) or newly qualified physicians applying for the Portuguese medical licensing exam (group 2).Results: Coffee was the most frequently used substance for cognitive enhancement purposes in both groups, whereas nonmedical use of prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement was lower in undergraduate students (5%) and higher in licensing exam applicants (14%). Methylphenidate (35%) and modafinil (10%) were the most consumed prescription substances and they were mainly used to enhance attention (83%) and memory (44%). Use of prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement was mainly associated with studying for medical school exams and the medical licensing exam. Most prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement were obtained through medical prescription (54%).Discussion: These results show a low consumption of prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement by Portuguese medical students. Licensing exam applicants show a higher consumption of almost every substance included in this study, which might be explained by the crucial role of the exam in defining their future career path and desire by students to improve the cognitive skills that determine exam success.Conclusion: Studying drugtaking behaviors in medical students and young doctors is relevant for public health and medical education, since they will soon be in charge of drugs prescription. Therefore, ethical and medical concerns raised by off label consumption of prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement purposes must be openly addressed. |
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Use of Cognitive Enhancers by Portuguese Medical Students: Do Academic Challenges Matter?Estratégias de Aprimoramento Cognitivo em Estudantes de Medicina Portugueses: Qual a Relevância dos Desafios Académicos?Academic PerformanceCentral Nervous System StimulantsPortugalPrescription Drug MisuseStudentsMedicalDesempenho AcadémicoEstimulantes do Sistema Nervoso CentralEstudantes de MedicinaPortugalUso Indevido de MedicamentosIntroduction: Nonmedical use of prescription drugs and other substances for cognitive enhancement in the academic environment has been documented in several studies. However, the prevalence among Portuguese university students is unknown. We aimed to assess the prevalence and academic contexts of the use of cognitive enhancers of a sample of Portuguese medical students.Material and Methods: An online questionnaire about the use of cognitive enhancers was completed by 1156 participants, who were either medical students (group 1) or newly qualified physicians applying for the Portuguese medical licensing exam (group 2).Results: Coffee was the most frequently used substance for cognitive enhancement purposes in both groups, whereas nonmedical use of prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement was lower in undergraduate students (5%) and higher in licensing exam applicants (14%). Methylphenidate (35%) and modafinil (10%) were the most consumed prescription substances and they were mainly used to enhance attention (83%) and memory (44%). Use of prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement was mainly associated with studying for medical school exams and the medical licensing exam. Most prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement were obtained through medical prescription (54%).Discussion: These results show a low consumption of prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement by Portuguese medical students. Licensing exam applicants show a higher consumption of almost every substance included in this study, which might be explained by the crucial role of the exam in defining their future career path and desire by students to improve the cognitive skills that determine exam success.Conclusion: Studying drugtaking behaviors in medical students and young doctors is relevant for public health and medical education, since they will soon be in charge of drugs prescription. Therefore, ethical and medical concerns raised by off label consumption of prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement purposes must be openly addressed.Introdução: A utilização de substâncias sujeitas a receita médica para fins de aprimoramento cognitivo em contexto académico tem sido reportada em diversos estudos. Contudo, a prevalência destes consumos na comunidade de estudantes universitários portugueses é desconhecida. Neste sentido, pretendemos analisar as estratégias de aprimoramento cognitivo utilizadas por estudantes de Medicina portugueses, identificando a sua prevalência e os contextos académicos mais associados a estes consumos.Material e Métodos: Um questionário online relativo à adoção de estratégias de aprimoramento cognitivo foi preenchido por 1156 participantes: estudantes de medicina (grupo 1) e médicos recém-graduados a estudar para a Prova Nacional de Seriação (grupo 2).Resultados: O café foi a substância mais frequentemente utilizada para fins de aprimoramento cognitivo nos dois grupos. A utilização de medicamentos sujeitos a receita médica para aprimoramento cognitivo revelou-se mais baixa nos participantes pré-graduados (5%), tendo sido três vezes mais elevada nos participantes em preparação para a Prova Nacional de Seriação (14%). O metilfenidato (35%) e o modafinil (10%) foram as substâncias sujeitas a receita médica mais utilizadas. O melhoramento da capacidade de concentração (83%) e de memória (44%) foram os principais objetivos citados para justificar a utilização destas substâncias, as quais foram obtidas por prescrição médica em 54% dos casos.Discussão: Os resultados deste estudo revelam uma utilização percentualmente baixa de neurofármacos. Os participantes da Prova Nacional de Seriação apresentaram taxas de consumo superiores em praticamente todas as substâncias estudadas, o que poderá ser explicado pelo desejo dos participantes em potenciar certas capacidades cognitivas determinantes de sucesso académico, bem como pelo papel crucial da Prova Nacional de Seriação na definição da futura carreira médica em Portugal.Conclusão: Os estudantes de medicina e jovens médicos são os prescritores do futuro. Ao estudar o seu padrão de consumo medicamentoso, este estudo mostra-se relevante para a Saúde Pública e Educação Médica, estimulando um debate público sobre as questões éticas e médicas relativas à utilização destas substâncias em contexto off-label para fins de aprimoramento cognitivo.Ordem dos Médicos2022-04-01info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://www.actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/14220oai:ojs.www.actamedicaportuguesa.com:article/14220Acta Médica Portuguesa; Vol. 35 No. 4 (2022): April; 257-263Acta Médica Portuguesa; Vol. 35 N.º 4 (2022): Abril; 257-2631646-07580870-399Xreponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãoinstacron:RCAAPenghttps://www.actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/14220https://www.actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/14220/6241Direitos de Autor (c) 2021 Acta Médica Portuguesainfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessMiranda, MiguelBarbosa, Miguel2022-12-20T11:07:09Zoai:ojs.www.actamedicaportuguesa.com:article/14220Portal AgregadorONGhttps://www.rcaap.pt/oai/openaireopendoar:71602024-03-19T16:20:26.931060Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãofalse |
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Use of Cognitive Enhancers by Portuguese Medical Students: Do Academic Challenges Matter? Estratégias de Aprimoramento Cognitivo em Estudantes de Medicina Portugueses: Qual a Relevância dos Desafios Académicos? |
title |
Use of Cognitive Enhancers by Portuguese Medical Students: Do Academic Challenges Matter? |
spellingShingle |
Use of Cognitive Enhancers by Portuguese Medical Students: Do Academic Challenges Matter? Miranda, Miguel Academic Performance Central Nervous System Stimulants Portugal Prescription Drug Misuse Students Medical Desempenho Académico Estimulantes do Sistema Nervoso Central Estudantes de Medicina Portugal Uso Indevido de Medicamentos |
title_short |
Use of Cognitive Enhancers by Portuguese Medical Students: Do Academic Challenges Matter? |
title_full |
Use of Cognitive Enhancers by Portuguese Medical Students: Do Academic Challenges Matter? |
title_fullStr |
Use of Cognitive Enhancers by Portuguese Medical Students: Do Academic Challenges Matter? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Use of Cognitive Enhancers by Portuguese Medical Students: Do Academic Challenges Matter? |
title_sort |
Use of Cognitive Enhancers by Portuguese Medical Students: Do Academic Challenges Matter? |
author |
Miranda, Miguel |
author_facet |
Miranda, Miguel Barbosa, Miguel |
author_role |
author |
author2 |
Barbosa, Miguel |
author2_role |
author |
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv |
Miranda, Miguel Barbosa, Miguel |
dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv |
Academic Performance Central Nervous System Stimulants Portugal Prescription Drug Misuse Students Medical Desempenho Académico Estimulantes do Sistema Nervoso Central Estudantes de Medicina Portugal Uso Indevido de Medicamentos |
topic |
Academic Performance Central Nervous System Stimulants Portugal Prescription Drug Misuse Students Medical Desempenho Académico Estimulantes do Sistema Nervoso Central Estudantes de Medicina Portugal Uso Indevido de Medicamentos |
description |
Introduction: Nonmedical use of prescription drugs and other substances for cognitive enhancement in the academic environment has been documented in several studies. However, the prevalence among Portuguese university students is unknown. We aimed to assess the prevalence and academic contexts of the use of cognitive enhancers of a sample of Portuguese medical students.Material and Methods: An online questionnaire about the use of cognitive enhancers was completed by 1156 participants, who were either medical students (group 1) or newly qualified physicians applying for the Portuguese medical licensing exam (group 2).Results: Coffee was the most frequently used substance for cognitive enhancement purposes in both groups, whereas nonmedical use of prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement was lower in undergraduate students (5%) and higher in licensing exam applicants (14%). Methylphenidate (35%) and modafinil (10%) were the most consumed prescription substances and they were mainly used to enhance attention (83%) and memory (44%). Use of prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement was mainly associated with studying for medical school exams and the medical licensing exam. Most prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement were obtained through medical prescription (54%).Discussion: These results show a low consumption of prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement by Portuguese medical students. Licensing exam applicants show a higher consumption of almost every substance included in this study, which might be explained by the crucial role of the exam in defining their future career path and desire by students to improve the cognitive skills that determine exam success.Conclusion: Studying drugtaking behaviors in medical students and young doctors is relevant for public health and medical education, since they will soon be in charge of drugs prescription. Therefore, ethical and medical concerns raised by off label consumption of prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement purposes must be openly addressed. |
publishDate |
2022 |
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2022-04-01 |
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info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
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info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
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article |
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publishedVersion |
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https://www.actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/14220 oai:ojs.www.actamedicaportuguesa.com:article/14220 |
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https://www.actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/14220 |
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oai:ojs.www.actamedicaportuguesa.com:article/14220 |
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eng |
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eng |
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https://www.actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/14220 https://www.actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/14220/6241 |
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Direitos de Autor (c) 2021 Acta Médica Portuguesa info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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Direitos de Autor (c) 2021 Acta Médica Portuguesa |
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openAccess |
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application/pdf |
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Ordem dos Médicos |
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Ordem dos Médicos |
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Acta Médica Portuguesa; Vol. 35 No. 4 (2022): April; 257-263 Acta Médica Portuguesa; Vol. 35 N.º 4 (2022): Abril; 257-263 1646-0758 0870-399X reponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação instacron:RCAAP |
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Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
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RCAAP |
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RCAAP |
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Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
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Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
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Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
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