Assessment of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Adverse Professional Experiences, Depression, and Burnout in US Physicians

To assess associations of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adverse occupational experiences (AOEs) with depression and burnout in US physicians. We performed a secondary analysis of data from a representative sample survey of US physicians conducted between November 20, 2020, and March 23, 2021, and from a probability-based sample of other US workers. The ACEs, AOEs, burnout, and depression were assessed using previously published measures. Analyses included data from 1125 of the 3671 physicians (30.6%) who received a mailed survey and 6235 of 90,000 physicians (6.9%) who received an electronic survey. The proportion of physicians who had lived with a family member with substance misuse during childhood (811 of 6213 [13.1%]) was marginally lower than that of workers in other professions (406 of 2058 [17.9%]). The proportion of physicians who experienced childhood emotional abuse (969 of 6208 [15.6%]) was similar to that of workers in other professions (406 of 2058 [16.2%]). The average physician depression T-score was 49.60 (raw score ± SD, 6.22±8.39), similar to the normed US average. The AOEs were associated with mild to severe depression, including making a recent significant medical error (odds ratio [OR], 1.64; 95% CI, 1.33 to 2.02), being named in a malpractice suit (OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.59), and experiencing one or more coronavirus disease 2019–related AOE (OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.59 to 2.01). Having one or more ACEs was associated with mild to severe depression (OR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.41 to 1.82). The ACEs, coronavirus disease 2019–related AOEs, and medical errors were also associated with burnout. Assessing ACEs and AOEs and implementing selective primary prevention interventions may improve population health efforts to mitigate depression and burnout in physicians.