Depression and life events in medical residents

To study the association between life events and depression in medical residents. Material &

This was a cross-sectional study and 233 medical residents were assessed. First, a brief interview was carried out to collect information on age, marital status, number of children) and past psychiatric and family history. Then, they were assessed through the following questionnaires: The Hamilton Depression Inventory, The Beck Depression Inventory, The Holmes & Rahe Life Events Scale and The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI).

The mean score of the BDI was 5.77(SD:5.74) and the mean score of the HDI was 5.2l (SD: 4.38). The incidence of depression was 19% (as measured by the BDI) and 24.5% (as measured by the HDI). There was a significant correlation between the BDI and the HDI. There was no significant correlation between depression with age, sex, marital status, number of children and religion. Males were more sensitive to work and financial problems, and females were more sensitive to personal and marital problems.

Depression in medical residents is correlated with number and type of life events.