A prospective cohort study investigating factors associated with depression during medical internship.

Objectives To identify psychological, demographic, and residency program factors that are associated with depression among interns and to use medical internship as a model to study the moderating effects of this polymorphism. Participants Seven hundred forty interns entering participating residency programs. Main Outcome Measures Subjects were assessed for depressive symptoms using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), a series of psychological traits, and the 5-HTTLPR genotype prior to internship and then assessed for depressive symptoms and potential stressors at 3-month intervals during internship. Results The PHQ-9 depression score increased from 2.4 prior to internship to a mean of 6.4 during internship (P < .001). The proportion of participants who met PHQ-9 criteria for depression increased from 3.9% prior to internship to a mean of 25.7% during internship (P < .001). A series of factors measured prior to internship (female sex, US medical education, difficult early family environment, history of major depression, lower baseline depressive symptom score, and higher neuroticism) and during internship (increased work hours, perceived medical errors, and stressful life events) was associated with a greater increase in depressive symptoms during internship. In addition, subjects with at least 1 copy of a less-transcribed 5-HTTLPR allele reported a greater increase in depressive symptoms under the stress of internship (P = .002). Conclusions There is a marked increase in depressive symptoms during medical internship. Specific individual, internship, and genetic factors are associated with the increase in depressive symptoms.

Contact us for a copy of this article, or view online at http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/210823