ORIGINAL PAPER Depression among physicians working in public healthcare in Belo Horizonte, Brazil Ada A ´ vila Assunc ¸a ˜o • Carla Jorge Machado • Hugo Alejandro Cano Prais • Ta ˆnia Maria de Arau ´jo Received: 15 June 2012 / Accepted: 7 February 2014 Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014 Abstract Purpose Prevalence of depressive disorders has been reported among physicians in a number of different set- tings. The aim of the present study is to assess the preva- lence of self-reported depression and its associated factors among physicians working in the public healthcare system of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Methods A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 2009 to investigate individual and occupational dimensions of depressive disorders in a group of physicians working at several municipal healthcare units. The percentage of physicians that self-reported a confirmed diagnosis of depression by another physician was used as the prevalence proportion; the Poisson regression univariate and multi- variate models were applied to study factors associated with depression. Results The response rate was 81.2 %, of which 12.0 % reported depression confirmed by another physician. Reports of RSI/WMSD (p \ 0.001) and passive work (p \ 0.05) were positively and independently associated with the outcome. Conclusions Our data bring valuable information that may help guide interventions and health-promoting activ- ities for physicians by indicating concrete measures to change working conditions that affect mental health. Keywords Depression Á Physicians Á Healthcare systems Á Brazil Á Workplace environment Introduction Depression is a state characterized by a significantly lowered mood and a loss of interest or pleasure in usually enjoyable activities. Several psychiatric disorders include milder forms of these symptoms. When mild, the condition is named minor depression. There are also cases of individuals that present one or a few symptoms but do not meet the full criteria to establish a diagnosis of depression. Medical findings in such situations do not define a diagnosis because the criteria are not met, even though subjects may experience depressive symptoms (disturbed sleep, for instance) [1]. Research has attempted to understand the cause of depression. According to the biological model, depression results from neurochemical disorders [2]. The psychologi- cal model raises the hypothesis of cognitive vulnerability, of how individuals attribute meaning or interpret adverse life events; these cognitive styles then precipitate and affect the progression of depression [3]. The mental health of physicians workers has been a topic of study in recent years [4]. A higher prevalence of depressive disorders and suicide compared to other pro- fessional groups has been identified among physicians. Drug abuse is another issue among physicians [5–8]. Physicians with sickness find themselves facing barriers when seeking psychological therapy; studies have shown A. A ´ . Assunc ¸a ˜o (&) Á C. J. Machado Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais, Brazil e-mail: adavila@medicina.ufmg.br C. J. Machado e-mail: carlajmachado@gmail.com H. A. C. Prais Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil e-mail: hugoalejandro@hotmail.com T. M. de Arau ´jo Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil e-mail: araujotania@hotmail.com 123 Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol DOI 10.1007/s00127-014-0850-z