Impact of Depression on Pathologic Internet Use Among Intern Doctors of Cairo University Hospital (Kasr Al-Ainy)

Introduction: The growth of the internet has impacted almost every facet of life in the world. In most cases, utilization of the internet has improved people's lives. However, in some cases excessive use of the internet has been linked to significant impairment in critical areas of functioning. Aim of the Work: To determine the prevalence of pathologic use of the internet and verify whether there is a relation between this problem and the depressive disorders among Intern doctors working in Cairo University hospital. Subjects and Methods: A total of 300 Intern doctors of Cairo University hospitals were included. The Internet Addiction Test was used to measure pathologic intent use. Present State Examination-10 was used for screening of depressive symptoms and Beck Depression Inventory to determine the severity of depression. The Internet Application Checklist was used to determine internet usage patterns of the subjects. Results: More than half of the sample (54.0%) consisted of pathologic internet users. Only 12.3% comprised moderate/severe pathologic internet users. Severe forms of pathologic internet use were more prevalent in male individuals than in female individuals. Pathologic internet users were more associated with depressive symptoms and depressive disorders than nonpathologic internet users. Conclusions: There were significant positive correlations among internet addiction, depressive symptoms, and depressive disorders in fresh graduate Cairo University Intern doctors. As there is a potential harmful behavior among new graduate doctors, health professionals need to be aware of measures and procedures for the assessment of internet addiction and depression.