Depression in medical school: the influence of morningness-eveningness.
Medical students are at higher risk for depression, affecting not only their lives but also patient care. This article studied a population of medical students engaged in lecture-based learning regarding the presence of depressive symptoms and its relation to morningness-eveningness. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Beck Depressive Inventory scale (BDI>10), and diurnal preference was assessed by the Horne & Ostberg Morningness/Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ). Family history of depression and involvement in regular physical activity were also investigated. A total of 161 students, 77 (47.8%) males, aged 19 to 30 yrs (22.1+/-2.1) living in a city close to the equator were evaluated. Fifty-three individuals (32.9%) had depressive symptoms. Depressive individuals showed a trend to be female (p=0.07). Also, female gender showed a non-significant shift toward morningness. Fifty-eight (36.0%) subjects participated in regular physical activity. In 57 cases (35.4%), there was a history of depression in the family. Fifteen individuals (9.3%) were definitely evening type, 42 (26.1%) were moderately evening type, 44 (27.3%) were indifferent, 42 (26.1%) were moderately morning type, and 18 (11.2%) were definitely morning type. Family history of depression (OR=0.29, 95% CI=1.37-6.12) and sedentary life (OR=0.28, 95% CI=0.12-0.65) were associated with depressive symptoms. Eveningness was associated with depressive symptoms (OR=0.66, 95% CI=0.50-0.88), and this association remained significant after adjusting for the presence of familial depression and physical activity (OR=0.71, 95% CI=0.52-0.95). In conclusion, depressive symptoms are independently associated with "eveningness" in medical students. These results should be confirmed by future studies involving a larger number of subjects.
Hirata
Fabiana Campos
FC
Department of Medicine, Federal University of Ceará, Ceará, Brazil.
Lima
Monica Colares Oliveira
MC
de Bruin
Veralice Meireles Sales
VM
Nóbrega
Paulo Ribeiro
PR
Wenceslau
Germano Paulo
GP
de Bruin
Pedro Felipe Carvalhedo
PF
D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires