Relationship between psychosocial factors and cardiovascular autonomic function among junior doctors: A cross-sectional study
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Background
Psychosocial factors such as stress, anxiety, and depression, are important causes of CVD by contributing to autonomic dysfunction, predisposing to endothelial dysfunction, arrhythmogenesis, among others. Doctors are at a high risk of psychosocial distress due to factors such as heavy workload and taking end-of-life care decisions. Junior doctors are at the forefront of daily medical care and are exposed regularly to this risk.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted among junior doctors in the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital from April to August 2023. Data were collected using an electronic questionnaire and a treadmill stress test. The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale -21 items (DASS-21) was incorporated into the questionnaire to assess depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms. Cardiovascular autonomic function was determined by heart rate recovery, chronotropic index and the index of resting heart rate/heart rate recovery in the 1 st minute. The data collected were analysed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24, using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results
244 junior doctors participated in the study, with a mean age of 31.46. The prevalences of depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms were 28.3%, 48.8% and 48.0% respectively. These correlated significantly with one another. Chronotropic index was abnormal for 9.4% of respondents. Simple and multiple linear regression models did not show a significant association with measures of cardiovascular autonomic function.
Conclusion
Though there is a high prevalence of depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms among junior doctors, the overall relationship between these and cardiovascular autonomic function did not achieve significance.
