Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Aug;48(4):339-345.
doi: 10.1007/s40596-023-01780-y. Epub 2023 Apr 10.

Loneliness Among Medical Students, Physician Trainees and Faculty Physicians

Cathrine Keiner  1 , Anastasiya Nestsiarovich  1   2 , Julie Celebi  1 , Sidney Zisook  3
Affiliations

Loneliness Among Medical Students, Physician Trainees and Faculty Physicians

Cathrine Keiner et al. Acad Psychiatry. 2024 Aug.

Abstract

Objective: Aims of this study were to explore 1) how often medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty physicians who completed a suicide screening questionnaire at a large US academic medical center endorsed intense loneliness and 2) the relationships of loneliness with other negative mental health states.

Methods: Between May 2009 and September 2001, all medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty physicians were invited to complete an anonymous online questionnaire as part of a screening program to identify and engage individuals in distress with mental health support. The questionnaire assessed intense loneliness, other affective states known to be associated with suicide risk, burnout, depressive symptoms, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Chi-square tests, independent sample t-tests, ANOVA, and correlation analysis were used to examine relationships between loneliness and these other signals of suicide risk.

Results: The response rate was ~ 20%. Overall, 364 of 2016 respondents (18.1%) endorsed intense. loneliness "a lot" or "most" of the time. This included 134/641 (20.9%) medical students, 170/703 (24.2%) residents and fellows and 60/664 (9.4%) faculty physicians. A greater odds of endorsing intense loneliness was seen in those under age 40 (OR = 0.35, p < 0.001), women (OR = 1.30, p = 0.030), and non-Whites (OR = 1.70, p < 0.001); and in those with burnout (OR = 3.14, p < 0.001), depression (OR = 12.34, p < 0.001), other intense affective states (OR = 4.34-8.34, p < 0.05), and suicidal ideation (OR = 3.47-13.00, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Interventions to mitigate loneliness in healthcare trainees and professionals may help decrease burnout, depression, and other suicide risk factors. A limitation of the study was the use of a single item to assess loneliness.

Keywords: Burnout; Depression; Intense affective states; Loneliness; Suicide risk.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Park C, Majeed A, Gill H, Tamura J, Ho RC, Mansur RB, et al. The effect of loneliness on distinct health outcomes: a comprehensive review and meta-analysis. Psychiatry Res. 2020;294:113514. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113514. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mortali M, Moutier C. Facilitating help-seeking behavior among medical trainees and physicians using the interactive screening program. J Med Regul. 2018;104:27–36. doi: 10.30770/2572-1852-104.2.27. - DOI
    1. Hendin H, Al Jurdi RK, Houck PR, Hughes S, Turner JB. Role of intense affects in predicting short-term risk for suicidal behavior: a prospective study. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2010;198:220–225. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181d13d14. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kroenke K, Spitzer RL. The PHQ-9: a new depression diagnostic and severity measure. Psychiatr Ann. 2002;32:509–515. doi: 10.3928/0048-5713-20020901-06. - DOI
    1. Rohland BM, Kruse GR, Rohrer JE. Validation of a single-item measure of burnout against the Maslach Burnout Inventory among physicians. Stress Health. 2004;20:75–79. doi: 10.1002/smi.1002. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources