Sleep quality, chronotype, temperament and bipolar features as predictors of depressive symptoms among medical students

Abstract

The assessment of risk factors is a crucial step in the prevention and treatment of affective disorders and should encompass personal dispositions. The aim of this study was to assess the value of chronotype and temperament as independent predictors of depressive symptoms among medical students. The study surveyed 140 students of the Faculty of Medicine with a battery of questionnaires: the Beck Depression Index (BDI), Hypomania Checklist 32 (HCL-32), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Chronotype Questionnaire and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised. The results were tested using Pearson's correlation quotient and general linear model. Ten percent of the participants demonstrated a BDI score suggestive of clinically significant depressive symptoms. BDI score correlated positively with HCL-32 score. A rise in BDI was independently predicted by elevated Neuroticism and PSQI scores and morningness. Those effects were independent from each other and from other parameters of the model. The presence of depressive symptoms might be associated with bipolar features among medical students. Poor sleep quality predicted depressive symptoms, similarly to Neuroticism and independently of temperament and chronotype. Future studies on the associations between personal dispositions and mood disorders among medical students are required to help identify those at greater risk of developing affective illness. Effective prophylaxis and early intervention are warranted to ensure better treatment results.

Eveningness and its possibility of predicting burnout symptoms among physicians and nurses – preliminary results

“…This result is entirely novel since no previous study on burnout has included an analysis based on the multidimensional concept of chronotype. As mentioned earlier, high distinctness of the rhythm, and thus susceptibility to circadian mood and energy levels, was associated with emotional liability and depressive symptoms [13,14]. It may be speculated that individuals with high subjective amplitude of the rhythm may be also more susceptible to the negative stress generated by working with Table 3.…”

“…Merikanto et al also found eveningness to be associated with high indices of burnout among young adults [11]. Little is known of the correlations of the subjective amplitude of the rhythm, however, it has been found to be positively linked to neuroticism (emotional liability) [12], the severity of depressive symptoms among medical students [13], and the severity of addiction among men addicted to alcohol [14]. Despite this, no up-to-date data exist on the relationship between the distinctness of the rhythm and burnout.…”

Can chronotype and social jet lag predict burnout among physical therapists?

“…The author of the Chronotype Questionnaire highlights that high DI is associated with low emotional stability, i.e. high neuroticism (Ogińska 2011); this link has been confirmed in consecutive studies across different populations (Nowakowska-Domagała et al 2016;Mokros et al 2017;Oginska et al 2017). Similarly, DI was linked to an emotion-oriented coping style (Oginska and Oginska-Bruchal 2014).…”

“…Less is known about the practical meaning of the distinctness of the rhythm, although it has been found to be positively correlated with depressive symptoms, neuroticism and psychophysical exhaustion as a burnout symptom (Oginska and Oginska-Bruchal 2014;Nowakowska-Domagała et al 2016;Mokros et al 2017Mokros et al , 2018.…”

Sleep Quality as a Predictor of Post-Clerkship Anxiety in Korean Medical Students: A Preliminary Report

“…Anxiety is associated with poor sleep among medical students in several cross-sectional studies [6][7][8][9][10]. Poor sleep quality is also associated with depression in medical students [8,11]. However, until…”