Top 10 physician specialties with the highest rates of depression

Physicians are at higher risk of burnout. Adverse professional experiences like not having enough PPE can contribute to depression as well.

By Sara Berg, MS , AMA News Editor

Adverse childhood experiences such as emotional abuse or living with someone who has a substance-use disorder have been linked to multiple adverse health outcomes, including higher risk of depression and burnout.

That’s as true for physicians as it is for the general population.

Now researchers are shedding light on the impact of the adverse experiences that physicians have in practicing medicine, dubbed “adverse occupational experiences.” For example, having to provide care for patients with COVID-19 without adequate personal protective equipment (PPE). According to a study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, such experiences increased a physician’s risk of depression and burnout. And they are just as important as risk factors for depression and burnout as are adverse childhood experiences.

For the study, researchers examined the links between adverse childhood and occupational experiences with depression and burnout among 7,360 physicians from the AMA Physician Professional Data™ who responded to a survey in late 2020 and early 2021.

For mild to severe depression symptoms, survey responses were collected from physicians practicing in 20 different specialties.  The highest rates of mild to severe depression symptoms occurred among these 10 physician specialties. They were:

• Physical medicine and rehabilitation: 32.7%.
• Radiology: 32%.
• Pediatric subspecialty: 31.9%.
• Psychiatry: 31.8%.
• Dermatology: 31.6%.

Discover the other top five specialties in the full article, plus the lasting impact of adverse experiences, and organizations’ next steps.

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