title: Turkish doctors' cohort: healthy despite low screening.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to determine the prevalence of chronic diseases and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors of Turkish doctors as compared with the general population and the frequency of compliance with preventive clinical practices among doctors.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was an observational, prospective cohort study that enrolled graduates between 1975 and 2004 from six medical schools in Turkey. Data on demographics, disease conditions, and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors were gathered. Preventive care practices were analyzed with regards to age and gender.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 7228 doctors participated in the study. Comparison with the national data revealed higher hyperlipidemia and coronary artery disease rates. While 54.5% of the doctors had a doctor visit in the last 12 months, only 31.5% of those over 40 years of age reported a recent blood pressure measurement. Colon cancer screening rate over 50 years of age with any of the acceptable methods was only 3%. One-fourth of the female doctors over 40 years of age underwent mammography within the last two years. Only 7.1% of the doctors over 65 years of age and 10% of the doctors having an indication for a chronic disease had a pneumococcal vaccine, while nearly one-fifth had no hepatitis B vaccine.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this cohort of mainly middle-aged Turkish doctors, the age-standardized rates of chronic diseases were lower than the rates in the general population except for the rates of hyperlipidemia and coronary artery disease. However, doctors did show quite low rates of receipt of screening practices. These results might provoke questions about how to use Turkish doctors' health behaviors to further improve doctors' and, relatedly, patients' health.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology , Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: Serhat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Unal
authors.affiliation: b Department of Internal Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine , Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: Mine Durusu
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Tanriover
authors.affiliation: a Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology , Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: Sibel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ascioglu
authors.affiliation: c Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology , Ankara University School of Medicine , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Demirkazik
authors.affiliation: d Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology , Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: Ihsan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ertenli
authors.affiliation: e Department of Internal Medicine , Numune Training and Research Hospital , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: Erdal
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eskioglu
authors.affiliation: f Department of Internal Medicine , Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine , Istanbul , Turkey.
authors.forename: Kerim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Guler
authors.affiliation: d Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology , Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: Sedat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kiraz
authors.affiliation: g Department of Internal Medicine , Tepecik Training and Research Hospital , Izmir , Turkey.
authors.forename: Mert
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozbakkaloglu
authors.affiliation: h Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology , Başkent University Faculty of Medicine , Adana , Turkey.
authors.forename: Birol
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ozer
authors.affiliation: f Department of Internal Medicine , Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine , Istanbul , Turkey.
authors.forename: Tufan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tukek
authors.affiliation: i Institute of Population Studies , Hacettepe University , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: Serra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akyar
authors.affiliation: j Department of Internal Diseases, Division of Nephrology , Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: Yunus
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Erdem
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000453:epidemiology; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Chronic diseases; cohort study; epidemiology; preventive medicine