Gender Differences in Demographic and Clinical Features of Physicians Admitted to a Program for Medical Professionals with Mental Disorders.

María Dolores Braquehais,Pilar Lusilla,Miquel Casas,Pilar Arrizabalaga,Eugeni Bruguera,Leo Sher,Sergi Valero,Miquel Jordi Bel

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00181

Abstract

To examine the demographic and clinical differences between men and women admitted to a Physicians' Health Programme (PHP). Retrospective chart review of 778 medical records of physicians admitted to the Barcelona PHP from February 1, 1998 until December 31, 2015. Women admitted to the Barcelona PHP were younger than men, were more likely to be self-referred and to be admitted for a non-addictive mental disorder. Prevalence of unipolar affective disorders (60.1 vs. 37.6%), adjustment disorders (62.4 vs. 37.6%), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (61.1 vs. 38.9%) was significantly higher among women, whereas prevalence of alcohol use disorders was lower (32.7 vs. 67.3%). Nevertheless, both groups were similar with regard to medical specialty, working status, length of their first treatment episode, and presence of hospitalization during that episode. After multivariate analysis, age, type of referral, and main diagnosis (addictive disorders vs. other mental disorders) discriminated the differences between groups. Women physicians seem to be more prone to voluntarily ask for help from PHPs and are more likely to suffer from mood and anxiety disorders compared to men. However, mental disorders' severity may be similar in both groups. More studies are needed to clarify the gender factors related to this behavior.

Highlights

Sex and gender differences are determinants of mental health in men and women, which is of particular relevance due to feminization of medicine in much of the Western World since four decades ago [1]
Physicians with Mental Disorders: A Gender Perspective show labor dissatisfaction through somatic symptoms, several studies emphasize that female doctors are more vulnerable than male doctors to stress, depression, and emotional burnout with regard to a negative psychosocial work environment [4]
The mean age of the sample was 49.83 (SD = 11.28) years, 53% (n = 412) of sick physicians were women, 41.6% (n = 324) worked as general medicine doctors, and most of them were self-referred to the program (n = 693, 89%)

Summary

Introduction

Sex and gender differences are determinants of mental health in men and women, which is of particular relevance due to feminization of medicine in much of the Western World since four decades ago [1]. Some studies have analyzed the relationship between morbidity and mortality in both male and female doctors on the specific psychosocial work environment and lifestyles. Physicians with Mental Disorders: A Gender Perspective show labor dissatisfaction through somatic symptoms, several studies emphasize that female doctors are more vulnerable than male doctors to stress, depression, and emotional burnout with regard to a negative psychosocial work environment [4]. In studies conducted in the US, female doctors suffer from more stress and have almost 20% more lifetime depression than men [5] as well as an estimated 60% higher probability of showing signs and symptoms of psychological burnout and loss of professional motivation [6]. In Spain, the emotional distress, generally related to work dissatisfaction, is said to affect more than 60% of general practitioners, GPs (12% in a severe form), and most GPs are female [9, 10]

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