Internet addiction is one of the most growing addictive behaviors worldwide, especially among university students affecting their physical and mental health negatively. During COVID-19, accessing online books, completing assignments, and online assessments are highly recommended by universities, teachers, and students. The Internet has increasingly become a vital part of our lives, and distant online classes increase the dependency of students on the Internet. The aim of this study is to assess the level of internet addiction among medical or non-medical students in Tanta University, Egypt. This was a cross-sectional study conducted during October and November 2020. It included 373 students from the faculty of medicine and 373 non-medical students from the faculty of science. The validated (IAT-20) was used to assess the level of Internet addiction among these students. A total of 51.7% of medical students were found severe internet addicts and 43.4% of them were possible addicts compared to only 11.3% of non-medical students who were found severely addicted to the Internet and 68.9% of them were possible addicts with statistically significant difference between them. Female students of both colleges were found addicted to the Internet than males. Female medical and non-medical students suffered from severe Internet addiction more than non-medical and male ones. Appropriate awareness creation intervention strategies should be implemented to decrease the level of Internet addiction among university students and to reduce its harmful and negative consequences.

Background: Stress, anxiety, and depression resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as subsequent restrictive measures had a negative impact on eating behaviors. This study aimed to determine the emotional eating behaviors and the perceived stress level and to assess the relation between them among adults in the faculty of medicine during the late period of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study among 580 persons from the faculty of medicine, at Tanta University, Egypt conducted over a period of one month during the last period of partial lockdown (October 2020). A self-administered structured questionnaire consisted of five parts used in the study (sociodemographic factors, COVID-19-related parameters, nutrition-related information during the pandemic, emotional eating scale, and perceived stress scale).Results: More than two-fifths of students, employees, and staff (45.2%, 45.5%, and 44.2%, respectively) stated that their weight increased as a result of the lockdown. 50.8% of students, 42.5% of employees, and 54.6% of staff were in the moderate emotional eating groups. Similarly, the majority of students, employees, and staff reported moderate levels of stress(84%, 80.8%, and 76.1% respectively). The total emotional eating score was positively correlated with the total perceived stress scores (r = 0.13, p = 0.001*).Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic, particularly during the period of lockdown, had a negative impact on individuals’ psychological stress levels and levels of emotional eating behaviors.

In face of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries including Egypt implemented stay indoor rules. These regulations slowed the propagation of the coronavirus, meanwhile they contributed to increase mental health issues, particularly the risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). That might lead to adverse health and social outcomes on the abused women and the children. This study aimed to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence of intimate partner violence against married women in Egypt. A cross-sectional study enrolled 2068 married women through an electronic survey link. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was used. It included demographic data and assessed the frequency of exposure to various forms of spousal violence before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The mean age of respondents was 33.8 ± 6.3 years. The commonest types of violent behaviors that have been increased significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic were: twisting arms/pulling the hair (pre 32.8%, post 75%), leaving the house without informing or giving the wife money (pre 12.2%, post 30.3%), restricting interaction with her family members (pre 26.1, post 40.4%), treating her as a servant (pre 28.7%, post 36.7%) and insulting her in front of others (pre 22.9%, post 30.8%).The associated determinants for higher violence rate were; low women education, young age at marriage, low educational and job rank of husband, husband’s tobacco use and reduced family income (p < 0.05). The overall prevalence of economic and some types of physical and emotionally abusive behaviors have been increased after the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic. Special intervention should be designed to address this issue in collaboration with public health organizations.

Background: Widely, it is believed that medical students develop symptoms of illness and fears relating to the diseases that they are studying. This phenomenon known as hypochondriasis or medical students’ syndrome (MSS). The COVID-19 pandemic was considered an additional factor which increased the frequency of depression and anxiety related to diseases. Aim: to find out the prevalence and determinants of hypochondriasis among students in the faculty of medicine, Tanta University, Egypt. Methodology: This study included 500 students at Tanta faculty of medicine. The used questionnaire consisted of; Sociodemographic data, a structured questionnaire to assess some determinants of hypochondriasis and 14 - items version of Whiteley Index (WI). Results:78.8% of included students diagnosed as having hypochondriasis with females, 4thyearstudentsand those from rural areas affected more than others. Also, significant associations were found between having hypochondriasis and existence of its determinants. Conclusion: Medical students are vulnerable to be affected by hypochondriasis, so they are in need for continuous psychological counseling and support.