Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
16th International Congress on Psychopharmacology & Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology / Psychotherapy, Antalya, Türkiye, 23 - 26 Nisan 2025, ss.274, (Özet Bildiri)
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Chronotype is defined as the expression of circadian rhythms of various mechanisms, such as body temperature, cortisol secretion, eating, and sleeping patterns. There is a well-documented bidirectional relationship between neurotransmitter systems and chronobiology, with these systems playing a crucial regulatory role in impulsivity, eating behavior, and hedonic processes. Medical students are at increased risk of mental health problems due to the escalating academic and social demands of young adulthood. This study aims to investigate the impact of various chronotypes on anhedonia, impulsivity, and eating behavior in this population. The findings may provide valuable insights for the development of tailored interventions to promote psychological well-being in medical students.
METHODS: This study was conducted online with the participation of 109 students of the Faculty of Medicine. This study was approved by Usak University Ethics Committee. The participants completed Morningness Eveningness Scale (MES), Turkish version of the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS-TR), Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS) and Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ).
RESULTS: Participants were categorised based on their chronotype scores as follows: 15 morning types, 67 middle types and 27 evening types. In terms of age and gender distribution, no significant differences were observed between these groups. Notably, the evening chronotype had the highest coffee consumption and the highest frequency of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Participants with an evening chronotype were significantly more likely to live alone than those with other chronotypes. One of the most striking findings of the study was that anticipatory anhedonia was most pronounced in the evening chronotype group. There were significant differences between chronotypes in overall anhedonia, with the evening type having the highest association with anhedonia, followed by the middle and morning types. In terms of eating behavior, the morning chronotype scored highest on the external eating subscale of the DEBQ, while the evening type scored second.
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides novel insights into the psychological and behavioral implications of chronotype differences. While participants with an evening chronotype exhibit significantly higher levels of anticipatory anhedonia, no differences were observed between chronotypes in terms of consummatory anhedonia. This finding suggests that participants with evening types may experience deficits in reward anticipation and contextual motivation. Furthermore, given their higher caffeine consumption, greater likelihood of living alone, and higher prevalence of suicidal ideation and behavior, evening types may represent a particularly vulnerable population in terms of mental health risks. These findings highlight the need for further research exploring the relationship between chronotype and the subdimensions of anhedonia. In terms of eating behaviour, results from the DEBQ indicate that participants with morning-type, who had the lowest levels of anhedonia, scored highest on external eating. This finding suggests that environmental cues may play a crucial role in shaping the eating behaviour of this group and may be associated with an increased susceptibility to overeating. In conclusion, further investigation of the interplay between anhedonia and circadian rhythms may improve our understanding of the psychobiological role of chronotype in medical students. These findings could contribute to the development of individualised interventions to promote mental health and well-being in this population.
Keywords: Anhedonia, Chronotype, Medical Students, Eating Behavior