Prevalence of Alcohol Use Disorders, Depression and Anxiety Among Medical Doctors in Kenya

Abstract

Worldwide, alcohol use is ranked the seventh most common risk factor for Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), morbidity and mortality and is a leading cause of loss of productivity. Alcohol use disorders also commonly occur co-morbid with other psychiatric episodes like anxiety and depression limiting not only productivity but also the quality of life of a population. Even though doctors are labelled a high-risk group due to work pressure, data on the prevalence of alcohol use disorders and associated comorbidities is lacking in this population group in Kenya. This study sought to evaluate the prevalence of alcohol use disorders, depression and anxiety among registered Medical doctors in Kenya. Study Objectives and Setting This study sought to evaluate the prevalence of alcohol use disorders, depression and anxiety among registered medical doctors in Kenyan. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted among 418 registered medical doctors in Kenya, recruited digitally between 8th February 2021 and 29th March 2021. Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to measure Levels of Alcohol use disorders. Depression and anxiety were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) respectively. Bivariate and multivariate analysis were conducted to evaluate the sociodemographic correlates of alcohol use disorders, depression and anxiety among medical doctors as well as association between alcohol use disorders, depression and anxiety. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05.

Results A total of 148 (35.4%) doctors were abstainers from alcohol. 17.0% had harmful alcohol use and dependence, comprising harmful / hazardous alcohol use (11.7%) and moderate-severe AUD/ possible dependence (5.3%). The prevalence of low risk alcohol use was 47.6%. 5.7% of the doctors had mild depression, 7.4% had moderate depression, while 1.0% had severe depression. Similarly, 81.1% of the doctors had mild anxiety, 15.8% had mild to moderate anxiety, 2.2% had moderate anxiety and 1.0% had severe anxiety. Alcohol use was independently associated with male gender (p=0.001) and being depressed (p=0.001). Depression was independently associated with low level of education (MBChB/BDS, p=0.030, Masters (p=0.036), alcohol use (p=0.001) and anxiety (p=0.001). Anxiety was independently associated with high depression (p=0.001). Significant positive correlations were found between alcohol use, depression and anxiety. Conclusion Hazardous alcohol use & dependence is common among medical doctors in Kenya. Also, a significant number of doctors are likely to experience moderate to severe depression and anxiety. Structural changes that support early detection of problematic alcohol use, depression and anxiety among medical doctors, followed by treatment where present are warranted.