The comparison of anxiety and depression levels of resident doctors treating and not treating COVID-19 patients

Abstract

Background: Healthcare professionals are exposed to the stress of the pandemic in the highest level and try to cope with the long‑term psychological consequences. Aim: This study mainly aimed to compare the anxiety and depression levels of resident doctors (RDs) who cared and did not care for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) patients at the University Hospital, which has been serving as a pandemic hospital during the COVID‑19 outbreak. Subjects and Methods: To proceed with this study, 100 RDs were included this study between March 15 and June 1, 2020. Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‑9) was used to measure the depression levels and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) was used to measure the anxiety levels of the RDs who participated in the study. Results: The analysis of the responses showed that there were 49 RDs treating COVID‑19 patients and 51 RDs not treating COVID‑19 patients. The proportions of the RDs who had higher PHQ‑9 and BAI scores were significantly greater in the RDs treating COVID‑19 patients than in those not treating. Conclusion: Our study highlights that front‑line RDs have higher levels of anxiety and depression than back‑line RDs\.