Prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress in medical residents from a Venezuelan hospital

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and severity of depression, anxiety, and stress in medical residents from the University Hospital of Maracaibo, Venezuela. Materials and methods: We conducted an observational, descriptive, and cross-sectional study among medical residents from the University Hospital in Maracaibo, Venezuela from March 2018 until June 2018. We randomly selected a sample comprising of 30 residents from each of the following specialties: Internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics/gynecology, obtaining a final sample of 120 residents. We used the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) to determine the level of depression, anxiety, and stress. Results: The mean age of the population was 28.7±3.1 years and 76 (63.3 %) were women. The prevalence of depression was 11.7 % (N = 14) with the mild stage being the most common (10 %). The prevalence of anxiety was 39.2 % (N = 47) with the moderate grade being the most common (15 %). The prevalence of stress was 22.5 % (N = 27) with the predominance of the mild category (11.7 %). Marital status was associated with the presence of mild depression (x2=17.7; P=0.02) and moderate stress (x2=34.1; P<0.01). In addition, the type of postgraduate training was associated with the presence of stress, with pediatrics showing the highest degree of stress severity (x2=18.6; P=0.03). Conclusions: Resident physicians of the largest tertiary hospital in the city of Maracaibo show a high prevalence of anxiety, where the majority of symptoms were mild to moderate in severity. The prevalence of depression and stress were similar to that of previous reports and were associated with marital status and type of postgraduate training.