Associations between Depressive Symptoms, Work Environment, and Lifestyle in <40-year-old Male Orthopedic Physicians in Japan

INTRODUCTION: Efforts are being made to reduce doctors’ working hours and implement reforms in the way doctors work. This study aims to determine the associations between depressive symptoms and work environment/lifestyle among <40-year-old male orthopedic physicians in Japan. METHODS: Participants were 1,343 male orthopedic physicians selected from a survey (N = 25,139) of all regular members conducted in 2019 by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Participants completed the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology and provided information about total working hours, number of on-call/night duties, number of patient complaints received, smoking habits, exercise habits, and sleep time. RESULTS: Of the participants, 6.6% had depressive symptoms. Factors associated with depressive symptoms were total working hours of ≥80 h per week (80-99 h: adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-4.18; ≥100 h: AOR = 3.89; 95% CI, 1.92-7.88), one or more unreasonable patient demands/complaints in the previous 6 months (AOR = 1.61; 95% CI, 1.00-2.60), current smoking (AOR = 2.98), no sweat-inducing exercise sessions of ≥30 min per week in the previous month (AOR = 2.50), and an average of <6 h of sleep per night in the previous month (AOR = 2.15). CONCLUSIONS: Work factors at the main medical institution (i.e., total working hours of ≥80 h per week) were associated with depressive symptoms. In addition, associations between depressive symptoms and unhealthy living conditions, such as smoking habits, lack of exercise, and <6 h of sleep per night, were observed.