Abstract:
Background: Examination stress is a sense of anxiety and tension about facing an examination.
University students reported possessing significant stress during examinations which ultimately
affects their physical and mental health. Although examination stress was found to be associated
with changes in blood cell parameters, the findings were still contradictory among different
populations.
Objectives: To evaluate the impact of examination stress on blood cell parameters among the
undergraduates of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences (FAHS), University of Jaffna (UoJ)
Methods: An institutional-based longitudinal study was carried out among 50 undergraduates of
the FAHS, UoJ, over two different periods. Male and female undergraduates without a history of
cardiovascular disease, thromboembolic events, chronic illnesses, recent trauma or surgery and
haematological disorders were included in the study. The first session of sample collection and
stress level measurement was carried out one month before the examination on a regular day of
academic activities whereas the second session was conducted within two hours after the semester
examination. A Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) by Cohen was used to measure the level of stress
while EDTA blood samples were used to analyse the blood cell parameters using Sysmex KX-21
(Japan) Hematological Analyzer. Data were analysed by Pearson correlation on SPSS version
18.0.
Results: Among the participants, females were predominant (58%), with a mean age of 24 years.
The stress analysis revealed that stress level was elevated during examination by 3.00±4.20 for
males and 2.5±1.59 for females. Furthermore, examination stress showed a statistically significant
positive correlation with platelet count (r=0.895, p<0.05) and a statistically significant negative
correlation (r=-0.344, p<0.05) with lymphocyte count although there was no significant influence
between examination stress and levels of haemoglobin, hematocrit, neutrophil, eosinophil and
monocyte.
Conclusion: Alterations in lymphocytes and platelet counts could be used as markers of
examination stress in university students; however, further large-scale studies are recommended.
