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Reading 2 mins.
in collaboration with
Sabrina Philippe (Psychologist)
Medical validation:
October 22, 2022
Longer working weeks with stressful work are associated with a higher risk of depression.
Work is health ? Not necessarily if we are to believe the results of a study conducted with young doctors…
Depression: + 5.2 points for those who work more than 90 hours
The researchers recruited 17,000 doctors in the first year of the study and observed, for 11 years, the effect of work on their mental health. Different factors of their personal and professional life were also taken into account.
Result: the number of hours worked was intrinsically linked to depressive symptoms:
- doctors working 40 to 45 hours a week, for example, had an increase in symptoms of depression of 1.8 points;
- and people who worked more than 90 hours – showed an increase of 5.2 points. That is a change three times greater than for the first group.
For the researchers, the results speak for themselves: work – and in particular the stress generated by these overtime hours – affects the mental health of young doctors and contributes to the development of depressive symptoms, according to a “dose-response” model.
For Dr. Philip, “It is above all the fatigue caused by excessive work that precipitates an individual towards depression. The lack of rest and personal time dedicated to pleasures also contributes to the development of depressive symptoms.“.
Young doctors are more affected by depression
Results that are not surprising when we know that depression would affect young doctors three times more than the rest of the population, according to a study published in the medical journal JAMA.
The workload, the lack of recognition, the many internships in the emergency room or the little time devoted to private life are among the many factors involved.
In addition, more than one in 10 doctors would describe themselves as in “psychological distress” – among which 2 to 4% have already had suicidal thoughts – according to a study carried out in 2008 by the Department of Research, Studies, evaluation and statistics (DREES).
Reduce working hours for better mental health
For the main author of the study, the key is to reduce working time.
“This analysis suggests that reducing the average number of working hours would make a big difference as trainees’ depressive symptoms increase over time.“, reveals Amy Bohnert, lead author of the study.
For his part, Yu Fang, MSE, co-author of the study and research specialist at the Michigan Neuroscience Institute, notes that while the number of hours is important, the training opportunities in hospitals and clinics are just as important. as much.
“It’s important to use time spent at work for supervised learning opportunities, not low-value clinical service tasks”she concludes.