Anxiety and depression symptoms among medical residents in KSA during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: Medical residents' direct contact with patients with COVID-19 places them at high risk of psychological disturbance. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms, and their relationship with the COVID-19 pandemic among medical residents in KSA. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March of 2021. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) were used to screen for depressive disorders and generalized anxiety disorder, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 533 medical residents participated in the study; 52% were men, and 58% were single. Most residents had direct contact with one or more patients with COVID-19. The prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms was 65.8% and 58.3%, respectively. The study revealed that gender was a risk factor for diagnosis with COVID-19 among residents: male residents were diagnosed with COVID-19 to a greater extent than female residents. In addition, being a nonsmoker rather than a smoker was associated with a higher risk of COVID-19 diagnosis. A multivariate regression analysis revealed that gender (female) and residency level (R5) were independently associated with anxiety symptoms. Similarly, the independent correlates of depression symptoms were gender (female) and specialty (family medicine). CONCLUSION: A high prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms was found among medical residents trained in KSA. The rates were significantly higher among female than male residents.

Patterns and determinants of stress among consultant physicians working in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Physicians experience several work-related stressors that have been mounting up in recent decades. This study aimed to examine perceived stress and its risk factors and consequences among consultant physicians in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2014 to March 2015 among physicians who were assigned rank of consultant. The stress level was assessed using perceived stress scale (PSS). RESULTS: A total of 582 consultants participated. The average age was 46.9±7.9 years, 71% were males, 56% were Saudi, 15% were smokers, and 68% slept ≤6 hours per night. The median PSS score was 17 (interquartile range of 14-21), which represented 44% of maximum possible PSS score. The upper tertile of PSS score (represents a high stress level) was significantly associated with being younger, female, and Saudi. The majority (85%) considered job environment to be stressful and ~50% attributed that to a high workload and a noncooperative administration. In the year preceding this study, half of consultants frequently contemplated or even worked toward changing their medical institutes or even moving to work outside Saudi Arabia because of perception of a stressful working environment. Over the previous year, encountering life stressors, considering job environment as stressful and experiencing passive suicidal ideation, were significantly associated with higher levels of stress. In multivariate analysis, the following factors were independently associated with stress: female gender (odds ratio [OR]=2.41, 95% CI 1.58-3.70) and perceived stressful working environment (OR=3.66, 95% CI 1.87-7.17). CONCLUSION: Consultant physicians in Saudi Arabia experience moderate to high levels of perceived stress that are relatively comparable to physicians worldwide. A significant association was found between stress levels and both female gender and perception of a stressful working environment. Further studies are required to assess physician-based interventions and organization-directed approaches to management of stress among physicians.

Stress and its effects on medical students: a cross-sectional study at a college of medicine in Saudi Arabia.

Medical education is perceived as being stressful, and a high level of stress may have a negative effect on cognitive functioning and learning of students in a medical school. This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of stress among medical students and to observe an association between the levels of stress and their academic performance, including the sources of their stress. All the medical students from year one to year five levels from the College of Medicine, King Saud University, were enrolled in the study. The study was conducted using Kessler10 psychological distress (K10) inventory, which measures the level of stress according to none, mild, moderate, and severe categories. The prevalence of stress was measured and compared with the five study variables, such as gender, academic year, academic grades, regularity to course attendance, and perceived physical problems. The response rate among the study subjects was 87% (n=892). The total prevalence of stress was 63%, and the prevalence of severe stress was 25%. The prevalence of stress was higher (p<0.5) among females (75.7%) than among males (57%) (odds ratio=2.3, chi2=27.2, p<0.0001). The stress significantly decreased as the year of study increased, except for the final year. The study variables, including being female (p<0.0001), year of study (p<0.001), and presence of perceived physical problems (p<0.0001), were found as independent significant risk factors for the outcome variables of stress. Students' grade point average (academic score) or regularity to attend classes was not significantly associated with the stress level. The prevalence of stress was higher during the initial three years of study and among the female students. Physical problems are associated with high stress levels. Preventive mental health services, therefore, could be made an integral part of routine clinical services for medical students, especially in the initial academic years, to prevent such occurrence.