01-02-2021 The Asian Independent

14 01-02-2021 to 15-02-2021 HEALTH
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Covid-19 takes a toll on physicians’
happiness, SAYS REPORT
Female physicians, those in critical care and infectious disease reporting highest rates of burnout
New Delhi : The Covid-19 pandemic
has severely affected the mental and
emotional well-being of doctors, with
female physicians and those in critical
care and infectious disease reporting
among the highest rates of burnout during
the pandemic, according to findings
from a new report.
The ‘Death by 1,000 Cuts:
Medscape National Physician Burnout
and Suicide Report 2021’ shows that
although burnout rates were stable from
the previous year’s report, at 42 per
cent overall, the level in women
increased from 48 per cent to 51 per
cent during the pandemic, while
burnout in male physicians overall
remained unchanged from 2019.
“Many women physicians are in
families with children at home. It’s
already known that women assume
more responsibilities in the home than
do men. The pressures have increased
during Covid-19: having to be their
child’s teacher during homeschooling;
no childcare; and the grandparents can’t
babysit. Those all bring enormous pressure
and burdens. In addition, all doctors
and nurses are worried about bringing
the virus home to their families,”
says US-based psychiatrist Carol
Bernstein in the report.
Burnout and the stress of the pandemic
(personal risk, social distancing,
financial uncertainty) appeared to
diminish physicians’ overall work-life
happiness, with only 49 per cent reporting
they were happy in 2020 versus 69
per cent pre-pandemic.
More than one-third reported feeling
unhappy last year, compared with 19
per cent in 2019. Shortage of personal
protective equipment (PPE), difficult
conditions, long hours, grief over losing
patients, and watching patients’ families
suffer added a layer of extreme
stress and exhaustion for many frontline
workers, suggests the report.
Nearly three-quarters of millennial
physicians (25-39) and GenXrs (40-54)
and two-thirds of boomers (55-73) said
burnout has had a negative effect on
their personal relationships, says the
report based on responses from over
12,000 physicians. Burnout is described
as long-term, unresolved, job-related
stress leading to exhaustion, cynicism,
detachment from job responsibilities,
and lacking a sense of personal accomplishment.
Of the 20 per cent of physicians
who said they were depressed,
one in five reported clinical depression,
and more than two-thirds said they felt
down (colloquial depression) during
2020. Of those reporting depression, 13
per cent said they experienced suicidal
thoughts, and 1 per cent attempted suicide.
“More than one-third of all physicians
who report depression say it leads
them to be more easily exasperated
with patients, 24 per cent are less careful
when taking patient notes and 15 per
cent said depression results in them
making errors they would otherwise not
make,” says the Medscape report.
1 in 3 adults anxious,
depressed due to
PANDEMIC : Study
Frequent cannabis use
may decline IQ among
YOUNG PEOPLE
Study also confirmed that longer media exposure was
associated with higher odds of anxiety, depression
Singapore : One in
every three adults, particularly
women,
younger adults and
those of lower socioeconomic
status, are experiencing
psychological
distress related to
Covid-19, a new study
suggests.
The study, published
in the journal PLOS
ONE, indicates that
women are more likely
to experience psychological
distress than
men is consistent with other
global studies that have shown
that anxiety and depression are
more common in women.
“The lower social status of
women and less preferential
access to healthcare compared to
men could potentially be responsible
for the exaggerated adverse
psychosocial impact on
women,” according to the
researchers, including Tazeen
Jafar from the Duke-NUS in
Singapore.
For the study, the team performed
a meta-analysis of 68
studies conducted during the
pandemic, encompassing
2,88,830 participants from 19
countries, to assess risk factors
associated with anxiety and
depression among the general
population.
They found that, among the
people most affected by Covid-
19-related anxiety or depression,
women, younger adults, individuals
of lower socioeconomic status,
those living in rural areas
and those at high risk of Covid-
19 infection were more likely to
experience psychological distress.
Younger adults, aged 35 and
under, were more likely to experience
psychological distress
than those over the age of 35.
Although the reasons
for this are
unclear, previous
studies have suggested
that it might be due
to younger people’s
greater access to
Covid-19 information
through the media.
This current study
also confirmed that
longer media exposure
was associated
with higher odds of
anxiety and depression,
the researchers
said.
Other factors associated with
psychological distress included
living in rural areas; lower education,
lower income or unemployment;
and being at high risk
of Covid-19 infection. However,
having stronger family and
social support and using positive
coping strategies were shown to
reduce the risk of psychological
distress.
“Understanding these factors
is crucial for designing preventive
programmes and mental
health resource planning during
the rapidly evolving Covid-19
outbreak,” Jafar said.
London : Adolescents who
frequently use cannabis may
experience a decline in
Intelligence Quotient (IQ) over
time, a new study suggests.
The findings, published in the
journal Psychological Medicine,
revealed that there were declines
of approximately 2 IQ points
over time in those who use
cannabis frequently compared to
those who didn’t use cannabis.
Further analysis suggested
that this decline in IQ points was
primarily related to the reduction
in verbal IQ. “Cannabis use during
youth is of great concern as
the developing brain may be particularly
susceptible to harm during
this period,” said researcher
Emmet Power from the Royal
College of Surgeons in Ireland
(RCSI).
“The findings of this study
help us to further understand this
important public health issue,”
Power added. For the study, the
team involved a systematic
review and statistical analysis on
seven longitudinal studies
involving 808 young people who
used cannabis at least weekly for
a minimum of 6 months and
5308 young people who did not
use cannabis.
To be included in the analysis
each study had to have a baseline
IQ score before starting cannabis
use and another IQ score at follow-up.
The young people were
followed up until age 18 on average
although one study followed
the young people until age 38.
“Previous research tells us
that young people who use
cannabis frequently have worse
outcomes in life than their peers
and are at increased risk for serious
mental illnesses like schizophrenia,”
said researcher Mary
Cannon, Professor at RCSI.
“Loss of IQ points early in
life could have significant
effects on performance in school
and college and later employment
prospects,” Cannon added.