Depression Levels Among Postgraduate Junior Residents Before and During the COVID‐19 Pandemic in Japan: A Cross‐Sectional Comparative Study

Introduction The recent COVID‐19 pandemic has introduced considerable societal turmoil, which could impose a psychological burden on junior residents but has not been adequately reported in the literature. Methods Junior (PGY 1–2) residents at the University of Yamanashi Hospital in Japan during 2021–2022 were recruited to complete the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ), Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES‐D), and Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) at the exit of each clinical department. The data collected were compared to our previous study conducted in 2017–2018 in order to assess the impact of the pandemic. Results There were 80 residents in each period who completed the CES‐D. During the pandemic, a total of 70 residents (87.5%) were involved in COVID‐19–related work for 1.4 ± 1.8 h per month. The pandemic period saw a significant reduction in quantitative overload ( p = 0.003, Cohen’s d = −0.5, 95% CI − 0.8 to − 0.1), a finding that was mainly driven by male residents. Further, the maximum–minimum difference in the CES‐D scores tended to be lower during the pandemic ( p = 0.06, d = −0.3, 95% CI − 0.6 to 0.04). Additionally, the residents engaged in COVID‐19–related work at or above the median (0.92 (0.33–1.92) hours/month) exhibited significantly higher coworker support ( p = 0.01) and sense of reward ( p = 0.02). Reproducibly, insomnia significantly influenced the CES‐D scores in each period. Conclusion Depression levels among the residents did not worsen during the pandemic, which may sound somewhat unexpected and needs replication elsewhere. This outcome may be attributable to physicians’ work reform in Japan and protective factors that may enhance the psychological resilience of junior residents.