title: Behaviour and burnout in medical students.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Burnout is prevalent in doctors and can impact on job dissatisfaction and patient care. In medical students, burnout is associated with poorer self-rated health; however, it is unclear what factors influence its development. This study investigated whether health behaviours predict burnout in medical students.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical students (n=356) at the Universities of St Andrews and Manchester completed an online questionnaire assessing: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalisation (DP), personal accomplishment (PA), alcohol use, physical activity, diet, and smoking.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Approximately 55% (54.8%) of students reported high levels of EE, 34% reported high levels of DP, and 46.6% reported low levels of PA. Linear regression analysis revealed that year of study, physical activity, and smoking status significantly predicted EE whilst gender, year of study, and institution significantly predicted DP. PA was significantly predicted by alcohol binge score, year of study, gender, and physical activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Burnout is present in undergraduate medical students in the United Kingdom, and health behaviours, particularly physical activity, predict components of burnout. Gender, year of study, and institution also appear to influence the prevalence of burnout. Encouraging medical students to make healthier lifestyle choices early in their medical training may reduce the likelihood of the development of burnout.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cecil
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.
authors.forename: Calum
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McHale
authors.affiliation: Manchester Medical School, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK; ahl1@st-andrews.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Laidlaw
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002055:Burnout, Professional; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: alcohol; burnout; diet; lifestyle; medical students; physical activity