BACKGROUND: To investigate mental health, sleep, and addiction features of young otolaryngologists (YO) according to the mobilization in COVID-19 units at the end of the third European wave of infections. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was sent to 220 YO of 6 European University hospitals. The following outcomes were evaluated: postgraduate year; age; management of COVID-19 patients; workload; nights on call; stress; Beck depression inventory; Insomnia severity index; sleep and mental health status evolutions throughout pandemic; consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs before and during pandemic. RESULTS: A total of 128 YO completed the evaluations (58.2%). Twenty responders (15.6%) did not manage COVID-19 patients, while 65 (50.8%), 20 (15.6%), and 23 (18%) managed rarely, frequently or daily COVID-19 patients during the pandemic, respectively. The management of COVID-19 patients was associated with increases of workload (p = 0.023) and number of nights on-call (p < 0.001). At the end of the third wave, the depression rates were 34% (N = 31/68) and 57% (N = 34/60) in YO who worked less and more than 50 h weekly, respectively. Sleep disturbance concerned 39% (N = 26/66) and 55% (N = 27/60) of YO who worked less and more than 50 h weekly, respectively. Mobilized YO reported a significant increase of alcohol consumption compared with control group (p = 0.002). Tobacco and drugs consumptions did not evolve. The consumption of alcohol was positively correlated with the number of nights on-call (p = 0.036) and the total hours of work (p = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Young otolaryngologists (YO) mobilized in COVID-19 units reported higher hours worked, nights on call, and alcohol consumption compared with others. Future large cohort-studies are needed to confirm our observations.

COVID 19 Task Force of Young Otolaryngologists of International Federation of Otorhinolaryngological Societies Paris France

Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences University of Catania Catania Italy

Department of Human Anatomy and Experimental Oncology Faculty of Medicine UMONS Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology University of Mons Avenue du Champ de mars 6 7000 Mons Belgium

Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies GF Ingrassia ENT Section ENT Department of University of Catania Catania Italy

Department of Otolaryngology Elsan Hospital Paris France

Department of Otolaryngology Head Neck Surgery CHU de Bruxelles CHU Saint Pierre Brussels Belgium

Department of Otolaryngology Head Neck Surgery Foch Hospital School of Medicine UFR Simone Veil Université Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines Paris France

Department of Otolaryngology Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena Seville Spain

Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery Faculty of Medicine University Hospital of Ostrava Ostrava Czech Republic

Division of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery University Hospital of Verona Verona Italy

See more in PubMed

Freeston MH, Ladouceur R, Thibodeau N, Gagnon F, Rhéaume J. The beck anxiety inventory. Psychometric properties of a French translation. Encephale. 1994;20(1):47–55. PubMed

Bastien CH, Vallières A, Morin CM. Validation of the Insomnia Severity Index as an outcome measure for insomnia research. Sleep Med. 2001;2(4):297–307. doi: 10.1016/s1389-9457(00)00065-4. PubMed DOI

Vallée M, Kutchukian S, Pradère B, Verdier E, Durbant È, Ramlugun D, Weizman I, et al. Prospective and observational study of COVID-19's impact on mental health and training of young surgeons in France. Br J Surg. 2020;107(11):e486–e488. doi: 10.1002/bjs.11947. PubMed DOI PMC

Larson DP, Carlson ML, Lohse CM, O'Brien EK, Kircher ML, Gurgel RK, et al. Prevalence of and associations with distress and professional burnout among otolaryngologists: part I, trainees. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2021;164(5):1019–1029. doi: 10.1177/0194599820959273. PubMed DOI

Kligerman MP, Devine EE, Bentzley JP, Megwalu UC. Cost-effectiveness of depression screening for otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residents. Laryngoscope. 2021;131(3):502–508. doi: 10.1002/lary.28780. PubMed DOI

Civantos AM, Byrnes Y, Chang C, Prasad A, Chorath K, Poonia SK, et al. Mental health among otolaryngology resident and attending physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic: national study. Head Neck. 2020;42(7):1597–1609. doi: 10.1002/hed.26292. PubMed DOI PMC

Ashoor MM, Almulhem NJ, AlMubarak ZA, Alrahim AA, Alshammari SM, Alzahrani FS, Alhayek AR, Alardhi A. The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on otolaryngologists: should we be concerned? Laryngoscope Investig Otolaryngol. 2021;6(3):576–585. doi: 10.1002/lio2.556. PubMed DOI PMC