Prioritizing Research Directions for Academic Stress in Medical Students: a Systematic Review of 2025 Scopus Articles

Introduction. Academic stress in medical students, which leads to academic burnout, sleep disturbances, neurotic disorders, psychosomatic symptoms, decreased academic performance and productivity, anxiety, and deterioration of physical health, requires comprehensive research.

Objective. The aim is to establish the priority areas of modern research on academic stress in medical students.

Methods and materials. Using the keywords “academic stress in medical students”, 24 empirical scientific articles that had not previously been translated into Russian or systematized were selected for a systematic review from 118 scientific arti­cles published in the Scopus international scientific citation system on the Science Direct platform in 2025.

Results. A systematic review of Scopus articles for 2025 allowed prioritizing the following areas of modern research on academic stress in medical students: 1) prevention of academic stress in medical students (33.4%); 2) external factors influencing the occurrence of academic stress in medical students (20.8%); 3) internal factors influencing the occurrence of academic stress in medical students (16.7%); 4) the relationship between academic stress in medical students and the characteristics of their emotional-volitional sphere (12.5%); 5) the consequences of academic stress in medical students (8.3%) and the relationship between academic stress in medical students and the characteristics of their motivational-need sphere (8.3%).

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2. Polyakova O.B. Specifics of academic stress of modern medical students. Bulletin of the Bashkir State Pedagogical University named after M. Akmulla. Series: Social Sciences and Humanities. 2025;2:15-29. (In Russ.)

3. Borukaeva I.Kh., Kipkeeva T.B., Shokueva A.G. et al. Diagnostic markers of adaptation to interval hypoxia of senior student under academic stress. Crimean Journal of Experimental and Clinical Medicine. 2025;15(3):5-12. (In Russ.)

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17. Leupold S., Jackson K., Li J. et al. Impact of Competency-Based Skills Assessments on Student Performance, Stress, and Preparedness in an Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) Readiness Course. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. 2025;89(5):101401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpe.2025.101401

18. Abdul Razak W., Asamoah A.S. Exploring undergraduate medical imaging students’ perception of clinical stressors in Ghana. Radiography. 2025;31(4):102963. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radi.2025.102963

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