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.