Loneliness and social isolation usually increase the risk of mental disorders. However, this association among Chinese medical residents during the COVID-19 pandemic remains unclear.
This study was conducted in September 2022; 1,338 medical residents from three hospitals in Northeastern China were included in the final analysis. The data were collected via online self-administered questionnaires. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were determined for adjusting for potential confounders by binary logistic regression.
Among the 1,338 participants, 12.93% (173), 9.94% (133), and 9.72% (130) had experienced major depression, major anxiety, and suicidal ideation, respectively. Further, 24.40% (327) and 44.50% (596) of the total participants had experienced loneliness and social isolation. Loneliness increased the risk of major depression, major anxiety, and suicidal ideation (all p<0.001); Compared with the lowest quartile, the odds ratios of the highest quartile were 4.81, 4.63, and 5.34. The same result was obtained in relation to social isolation (all p<0.001).
The findings of this study revealed a considerable prevalence of loneliness, social isolation, and mental disorders among Chinese medical residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both loneliness and social isolation increased the risk of major depression, major anxiety, and suicidal ideation.

UNASSIGNED: Long working hours are common among medical residents and may increase the risk of mental disorders. We aimed to investigate the association between experienced long working hours and depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among Chinese medical residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
UNASSIGNED: This study was conducted in September 2022; 1343 residents from three center in Northeastern China were included in the final analysis (effective response rate: 87.61%). The data were collected from participants via online self-administered questionnaires. Depression and anxiety were measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale, respectively. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were determined after adjusting for potential confounders by binary unconditional logistic regression.
UNASSIGNED: The effective response rate was 87.61%. Among the 1343 participants, 12.88% (173), 9.90% (133), and 9.68% (130) had experienced major depression, major anxiety, and suicidal ideation, respectively. We found that longer weekly worktime increased the risk of major depression, particularly in those who worked for more than 60 hours per week (≥ 61 hours vs ≤ 40 hours, OR=1.87, P for trend = 0.003). However, this trend was not observed for either major anxiety or suicidal ideation (P for trend > 0.05 for both).
UNASSIGNED: This study revealed that there was a considerable incidence of poor mental health among medical residents; furthermore, the longer weekly worktime was associated with a higher risk of major depression, especially for those who worked more than 60 hours per week, but this association was not observed in either major anxiety or suicidal ideation. This may help policymakers to develop targeted interventions.

Background: Work-related stress among healthcare professionals poses a serious economic and healthcare burden. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of burnout as well as anxiety, depression, and stress in medical residents from different majors, and assess the effects of an online psychological intervention on the mental health status of medical residents with a high degree of burnout. Methods: We conducted an online survey that collected information on the demographics, mental health, and burnout conditions of medical residents from Shengjing Hospital. The mental health condition was assessed by the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS)-21. Further, burnout was assessed by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Medical residents with a total MBI score between 50 and 75 were selected to receive online psychological intervention for 3 months. Results: Two-hundred and ten medical residents completed the questionnaire, of whom, 63 residents with an MBI score between 50 and 75 received the 3-month online psychological intervention. Anesthesia residents showed the highest level of depression, anxiety, and stress, and presented with a lower sense of personal accomplishment, higher emotional exhaustion, and higher depersonalization. Furthermore, pediatric residents had the second highest DASS and MBI scores following anesthesia residents. Following the online psychological intervention, negative emotional states and burnout levels were significantly lower among anesthesia and pediatric residents. There were no differences in the level of stress and sense of personal accomplishment pre- and post-online psychological intervention among the different majors. Conclusion: Our findings revealed high levels of burnout, as well as depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in medical residents, with marked differences among different majors. The online psychological intervention effectively improved emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization, and relieved the psychological problems such as anxiety and depression in medical residents.

OBJECTIVE: It is an important reform for medical education in China to combine professional postgraduate training with standardized resident training. This study aims to evaluate the depression and perceived stress in postgraduate students of clinical medicine and residents from society and to determine the relation between depression and perceived stress in medical residents.
METHODS: Chinese Perceived Stress Scale (CPSS) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were applied to 330 residents (including 235 postgraduate students of clinical medicine and 95 residents from society) from a Class-A Grade-3 genernal hospital in Hunan Province to evaluate and compare the depression and perceived stress in postgraduate students of clinical medicine and residents from society. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to assess the association between depression and perceived stress. Stress resources between 2 groups of residents were observed and compared.
RESULTS: Of the 235 postgraduate students of clinical medicine, 148 (63.0%) showed depression and 162 (68.9%) showed elevated perceived stress. Main stress resources were academic pressure, scientific research pressure, and employment pressure. Of the 95 residents from society, 52 (54.7%) showed depression and 58 (61.1%) showed elevated perceived stress. Main stress resources were economic stress, employment pressure, and academic pressure. The scores of CPSS and SDS were significantly higher in postgraduate students of clinical medicine than those in residents from society (t=2.110, P=0.036; t=2.810, P=0.005, respectively), while gender showed no difference in the scores of CPSS and SDS (t=-0.968, P=0.334; t=0.462, P=0.644, respectively). There was a significant positive correlation between depression and perceived stress (r=0.854, P<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Residents (including postgraduate students of clinical medicine and residents from society) possess depression and elevated perceived stress with positive correlation. The postgraduate students of clinical medicine show higher level of depression and perceived stress than the residents from society under the \"unified double-track\" training system.
目的: 专业型硕士研究生培养与住院医师规范化培训并轨(以下简称“双轨合一”)是我国医学教育的重大改革，本研究旨在调查“双轨合一”模式下参与住院医师规范化培训的专业型研究生和从社会招录的规范化培训住院医师(以下简称社会规培生)的抑郁症状及知觉压力情况，并探讨抑郁症状与知觉压力之间的关系。方法: 选取湖南某三甲医院住院医师规范化培训医师330例(其中专业型研究生235名和社会规培生95名)，使用中文版知觉压力量表(Chinese Perceived Stress Scale，CPSS)和抑郁自评量表(Self-Rating Depression Scale，SDS)分别评估和对比专业型研究生和社会规培生的知觉压力及抑郁症状情况。采用Pearson相关分析探究专业型研究生和社会规培生抑郁症状与知觉压力的相关性，比较二者的压力来源。结果: 在被调查的235名专业型研究生中，148名(63.0%)存在抑郁症状，162名(68.9%)知觉压力升高，主要压力为学业压力、科研压力和就业压力。在95名社会规培生中，52名(54.7%)存在抑郁症状，58名(61.1%)知觉压力升高，主要压力为经济压力、就业压力和学业压力。专业型研究生抑郁症状评分与知觉压力评分均较社会规培生显著增加(分别t=2.110，P=0.036；t=2.810，P=0.005)。不同性别间住院医师的CPSS和SDS得分差异无统计学意义(分别t=-0.968，P=0.334；t=0.462，P=0.644)。抑郁症状与知觉压力之间存在显著正相关(r=0.854，P<0.001)。结论: 住院医师(包括专业型研究生和社会规培生)存在抑郁症状与较高的知觉压力水平，两者呈正相关。在“双轨合一”的培训模式下，专业型研究生抑郁症状与知觉压力水平均高于社会规培生。.

Background: Medical residents usually suffer from work overload and experience both personal and professional distress, which affects their level of the empathy to patients. Psychological capital (PsyCap) is a psychological resource that is negatively associated with indicators of distress.Objective: This study explored the potential mediating effect of PsyCap on the relationship between distress and empathy, which may help healthcare professionals in their defense of empathy erosion due to distress.Design: A total of 620 first-year residents were recruited for this cross-sectional survey. Empathy and PsyCap of residents were assessed by the Chinese version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy and the Psychological Capital Questionnaire, respectively. In this study, both personal and professional aspects contributing to resident distress were investigated by the Satisfaction with Life Scale and an occupational distress scale. T-tests and one-way ANOVA were used to test differences in empathy of residents. Pearson\'s correlation was used to examine correlations between distress, PsyCap, and empathy. Structured equation modeling was used to conduct the pathway analysis to test the mediating effect of PsyCap on the association between distress and empathy.Results: 537 residents (68.6%) completed the survey. Distress, empathy, and PsyCap were significantly correlated (P < .01) and in the expected directions. The first step analysis showed that as distress increased, the empathy of residents significantly decreased (P < .01), with the direct effect coefficient being 0.265. When PsyCap was included, the direct effect coefficient decreased to 0.033. This indirect effect was significant (P < .01). The variance accounted for was 81.14%, which indicated a partial mediating effect of PsyCap.Conclusions: PsyCap may serve a significant protective role against the impact of distress on the level of empathy of medical residents. In addition to reducing distress, PsyCap development could be considered in empathy decline prevention and empathy cultivating strategies.Abbreviations: PsyCap: Psychological capital; JSPE: Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy; PCQ: Psychological Capital Questionnaire; SWLS: Satisfaction with Life Scale; VAF: Variance accounted for; SD: Standard deviation.