Sex disparities in psychosocial distress among medical students with indirect exposure to the 2023 Kahramanmaras earthquakes.

Authors

Kadir Uludag, Fatih Kara, Hongxing Wang

Published in

Global health action. Volume 19. Issue 1. Pages 2698916. Epub Jul 13, 2026.

Abstract

The psychological impact of disasters extends beyond directly exposed populations to those indirectly affected through close social networks. Sex is a critical factor of post-trauma outcomes, yet its role in shaping the mental health of indirectly exposed individuals remains underexplored.
This study investigates sex-based disparities in psychosocial distress among a cohort remotely exposed to a major earthquake.
Approximately 3 months after the 2023 Kahramanmaras earthquakes, 129 Turkish medical students with indirect exposure (e.g. via affected relatives or close social circles) took part in this cross-sectional study, completing a structured anxiety survey and a self-report form. The self-report form assessed academic stress, health behaviors (smoking, alcohol use, exercise, and nutrition status), and lifestyle factors.
After Bonferroni correction, no variable remained statistically significant. However, using the Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate procedure, peer bullying was associated with sex (χ²(3) = 13.581, p_FDR = .046, Cramer's V = 0.324). All other chi-square tests were nonsignificant under both correction methods.
After rigorous correction, sex differences were largely attenuated. Peer bullying showed a possible association under FDR, but not under Bonferroni, suggesting the need for larger confirmatory studies.

PMID:
42438926
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 13 Jul 2026.

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