Dive Brief:
- New research published in JAMA estimated 29% of medical residents exhibited depression or depressive symptoms. The researchers analyzed around 50 years of international depression studies on resident physicians.
- In providing their core estimate, the study found the percentage of residents with symptoms of depression ranged from 20% to 43%.
- There was no statistically significant difference in depression rates between the U.S. and other countries examined.
Dive Insight:
The study focused specifically on the years when doctors entered their internship and residency years, a period usually marked by long hours, high pressure, and difficult training. Despite the efforts made in recent years to make that experience more manageable for new doctors, the researchers found the prevalence of depression to have increased slightly over the five decades of research.
Other studies have shown depression in residents is linked to poorer-quality care, giving these results potentially greater weight. As a comparison, approximately 6.7% of U.S. adults each year experience major depressive disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
The body of research studied covered more than 17,500 residents from around the world.