Objective: To perform a screening, follow-up and comparative evaluation of depression and anxiety symptoms in a group of 59 first-year internal medicine residents of a teaching hospital and evaluate the influence of their rotation, nature of rotation, subgroup, sex and the time of year on these symptoms.
Methods: We used the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), applied seven times, in the last week of every rotation.
Results and conclusion: We obtained two identical averages (P=0.98) of trait-anxiety, six months apart one from the other. There was a significant correlation (R=0.65, P < 0.001) between the indexes of state-anxiety and depression. Women had higher levels of symptoms of both anxiety and depression (P < 0.001) compared to men. A cluster of three subgroups of residents with higher trait-anxiety levels (P=0.001) also showed significantly higher levels of symptoms of state-anxiety and depression (P < 0.001). The time of the year and the nature of the rotation (emergency or not) did not interfere with the levels of depression (P=0.47). We detected rotations where there was greater frequency of residents with symptoms compatible with moderate and severe depression. There were 2.1% of residents with symptoms compatible with severe, 4.2% with moderate and 27% with mild depression. It was possible to graduate symptoms of anxiety and depression in residents, evaluate factors involved in their genesis and locate residents with moderate and severe depression.