In this issue of the Medical Journal, Dr. Al-Dabal and her colleagues publish a comparative study of perceived stress among female medical and non-medical university students in Saudi Arabia.They investigated the difference between medical and non-medical students with respect to the prevalence and causes of stress, as well as mental and physical changes in their health. They report a statistically higher incidence of stress among the medical students compared to those in another faculty (48.6% of 319, versus 38.7% of 297) and a higher incidence of mental health problems, anxiety and depression amongst the medical students. Of possible special relevance to Oman is the finding of more underlying social problems among the medical students. While these findings د may be disputed by some studies in the literature, it is by far in agreement with the majority of studies on factors affecting medical students and, in the final analysis, the medical profession.