Burnout and Alcohol Abuse/Dependence Among U.S. Medical Students
Purpose To explore the relationship between alcohol abuse/dependence with burnout and other forms of distress among a national cohort of medical students. Method In 2012, the authors completed a national survey of medical students from the American Medical Association's Physician Masterfile containing validated items assessing alcohol abuse/dependence, burnout, depression, suicidality, quality of life (QOL) and fatigue. Descriptive and comparative statistical analyses were computed, including chi square and multivariate logistic regression, to determine relationships between variables. Results Of the 12,500 students, 4,402 (35.2% responded. Of these, 1,411 (32.4% met diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse/dependence. Students who were burned out (P .01) depressed (P .01) or reported low mental (P .03) or emotional (P .016) QOL were more likely to have alcohol abuse/dependence. Emotional exhaustion and depersonalization domains of burnout were strongly associated with alcohol abuse/dependence. On multivariate analysis, burnout (OR 1.20; 95% CI 1.05 1.37; P .01) having $50,000 to $100,000 (OR 1.21 versus $50,000; CI 1.02 1.44; P .05) or $100,000 (OR 1.27 versus $50,000; CI 1.08 1.48; P .01) of educational debt, being unmarried (OR 1.89; CI 1.57 2.27; P .001) and being younger (for every five years, OR 1.15; CI 1.02 1.28; P .01) were independently associated with increased risk for alcohol abuse/dependence. Conclusions Burnout was strongly related to alcohol abuse/dependence among sampled medical students and increased educational debt predicted a higher risk. A multifaceted approach addressing burnout, medical education costs, and alcohol use is needed.
Academic medicine journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges