Impact of lifetime subthreshold depression and major depression before internship on psychopathology and quality of life in Korean interns: 6 month follow-up study.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study was to investigate the influences of lifetime subthreshold depression and major depression before internship on the changes in psychopathology and subjective quality of life during internship.

METHOD

A total of 151 interns at Seoul National University Hospital completed questionnaires including World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument, Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF), Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) twice at an interval of 6 months. Their lifetime diagnosis of depression before internship was made using the Korean version of Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), Modified Form for Self-Administration.

RESULTS

Significant changes over time were detected including total score in the BDI and the Somatization, Depression, Anxiety, and Phobic Anxiety dimension scores in the SCL-90-R as well as all four domain scores in WHOQOL-BREF. In addition, in all scores except Somatization dimension score, group difference existed. Post-hoc comparisons showed that interns without lifetime depression were significantly different from those with lifetime subthreshold depression and those with lifetime major depression.

CONCLUSIONS

Even a subthreshold-level, lifetime depression before internship has an adverse effect on the psychopathology and the subjective quality of life during internship. Therefore, earlier detection, monitoring, and management of this population would be needed throughout the intern year and beyond.