title: Embryologists' health: a nationwide online questionnaire.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The present study evaluates health status and its relation with occupational characteristics and with burnout syndrome among embryologists.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional design was used to conduct an online self-assessment survey, sent to all members of the Spanish Association of Clinical Embryologists. The questionnaire contained occupational questions and two standard instruments: 'Short Form-12 Health Survey' as a measure of physical (PCS-12) and mental (MCS-12) health and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) to evaluate the degree of burnout.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The PCS-12 obtained for the Spanish embryologists was higher than that for the reference population. However, the total MCS-12 was significantly lower than that observed in non-institutionalised males and females representative of the general Spanish population aged 35-44 years. In the linear regression model, the dependent variable PCS-12 was related indirectly with the variables number of hours worked per week, BMI, back pain, leg pain and visual discomfort. In the linear regression model, the dependent variable MCS-12 was indirectly related to the gender (male reference; female coefficient regression: -3.23), exhaustion and cynicism dimensions of the MBI-GS. A total of 87 (36.3%) embryologists presented a high score on at least one of the MBI-GS dimensions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this sample of Spanish embryologists, a norm measure (SF-12) showed their physical health to be better than the average for the general population, but that their mental health was poorer. A significant indirect relation was observed between mental health and burnout syndrome. Strategies to reduce occupational stress and problems should form part of the training provided for clinical embryologists.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Reproducción, UGC laboratorio Clínico y UGC Obstetricia y Ginecología, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (IIBG), Granada, Spain, blancalopezleria@gmail.com.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: López-Lería
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jimena
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Clavero
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Gonzalvo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carrillo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Serrano
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: López-Regalado
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Olvera
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Castilla
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004626:Embryology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000078329:Workforce