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oai:figshare.com:article/34009308 2026-09-28T05:38:56Z category_427 portal_316 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Data Sheet 1_Differential associations of the timing and amount of social media use with sleep quality and academic performance among undergraduate medical and dental students in Pakistan: a cross-sectional study.docx Kanza Atif (24421493) Abdal Ahmad (23162248) Ayat Ullah Khan (23162254) Aziz Khan (4058191) Ata Ullah (9042671) Muhammad Umair Amjad (23162257) Muhammad Tafheem Khan (25119897) Muhammad Kakakhel (25119900) Muhammad Qasim (397533) Muhammad Talha Bin Shakoor (25119903) Abdul Latif (8829644) Sadia Qazi (23162245) Public Health and Health Services not elsewhere classified academic performance dental students medical students nocturnal smartphone use Pakistan Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index sleep quality social media Background<p>Poor sleep and reduced academic performance among medical and dental students have been linked to social media use; however, whether the amount, purpose, and timing of use are independently associated with these outcomes remains unclear.</p>Methods<p>In this cross-sectional study, 364 students enrolled in MBBS or BDS programs at ten institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, were recruited through convenience sampling and completed a paper-based questionnaire between October 2023 and April 2024. Sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and academic performance was assessed using self-reported percentage marks from the most recent professional examination. The models were adjusted for background characteristics and other social media exposures.</p>Results<p>Poor sleep quality (PSQI > 5) was present in 312 students (85.7%, 95% CI 81.7–88.9). Duration of pre-sleep social media use was the only exposure independently associated with the PSQI global score (B = 1.594, 95% CI 1.081 to 2.106, p < 0.001), while total daily use was not. Conversely, each one-category increase in total daily use was associated with examination scores that were 1.40 percentage points lower (B = −1.404, 95% CI −2.053 to −0.756, p < 0.001). The classification of platform-derived purpose was not associated with either outcome; however, a secondary measure of purpose, the proportion of use devoted to academic work, was associated with a higher examination percentage (B = 2.148, 95% CI 1.513 to 2.782, p < 0.001). Thus, conclusions about purpose depended on how it was measured. Nocturnal checking was not associated with either outcome. Fitting both outcomes in a single model supported outcome specificity, most clearly for pre-sleep use (difference in standardized β = −0.271, p = 0.006; total daily use, 0.235, p = 0.023).</p>Conclusion<p>Sleep quality was primarily associated with when social media was used, while examination performance was related to how much social media was used. These exploratory associations from a convenience sample cannot establish causal direction, apply to the participating institutions rather than to Pakistani students generally, and require replication with prospective designs and objective measures in future studies.</p> 2026-09-28T05:38:56Z Dataset Dataset 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1968305.s001 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Data_Sheet_1_Differential_associations_of_the_timing_and_amount_of_social_media_use_with_sleep_quality_and_academic_performance_among_undergraduate_medical_and_dental_students_in_Pakistan_a_cross-sectional_study_docx/34009308 CC BY 4.0