Medical Students on the Verge of Burn-Out Are More at Risk of Abusing Alcohol, Study Says

Did you know that medical students are more prone to abuse alcohol compared to their friends who attend normal universities? A recent study revealed that single, young, and students under a high amount of debt are more at risk of abusing alcohol.

Dr. Liselotte Dyrbye, an internist at the Mayo Clinic released a statement explaining their concern about their findings. "We recommend institutions pursue a multifaceted solution to address related issues with burnout, the cost of medical education and alcohol abuse," she said.

The research team from Mayo surveyed 12,500 medical students, and one-third replied. They found out that 1,400 of the subgroup suffered from clinical alcohol abuse or dependence. The figure sums up to approximately one-thirds of those who took part in the survey compared to the 16 percent nonmedical student peer, and double the amount of alcohol abuse or dependence of surgeons, US physicians or the general public based on a previous research of the team, kdhnews.com reported.

It was also revealed that those students who show signs of burnout, which includes emotional exhaustion and depersonalization feelings, fit more to the criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence. Those with a huge debt were also included in the list.

The researchers noticed that the average medical school cost has gone up by 209 percent between the years 1995 and 2014. Those doctors that graduated with a medical degree in 2014 had an average debt of $180,000.

First author of the study and Mayo medical school student said, "In our paper we recommend wellness curricula for medical schools, identifying and remediating factors within the learning environment contributing to stress, and removal of barriers to mental health services."

However, according to medical daily, there were no statistical difference between different years of medical school or men and women that were found in the study.