Working hours, occupational stress and depression among physicians.
1Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, 840 Shijo-cho, Kashihara, Nara 634-8521, Japan. tkimiko@naramed-u.ac.jp
Occupational Medicine (Oxford, England)
|March 9, 2011
Summary
Physician depression is linked to occupational stress, particularly effort-reward imbalance. Managing occupational stress is crucial for preventing physician depression.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Psychiatry
- Medical Education
Background:
- Physicians experience high rates of depression.
- Long working hours and occupational stresses (OSs) are prevalent among physicians.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the cross-sectional association between working hours, occupational stress (OS), and depression in physicians.
Main Methods:
- A self-administered questionnaire assessed working hours, OS (effort-reward imbalance model), social support, and depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale).
- Multiple logistic regression analyzed associations between occupational factors and depression.
Main Results:
- Long working hours (>70 h/week) showed an increased odds ratio (OR) for depression (1.8).
- High effort-reward ratio (ERR) significantly increased depression ORs, especially in middle (8.5) and long (9.9) working hours groups.
- No direct association was found between working hours and depression alone.
Conclusions:
- Occupational stress, specifically effort-reward imbalance, is a significant factor associated with depression in physicians.
- Management of occupational stress is a necessary countermeasure against physician depression.
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