Impact of mobilization of residents in otolaryngology-head–neck surgery in COVID-19 units on mental health status

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.