Association between burnout and emotional and sexual life among medical students of postgraduate schools in psychiatry

BACKGROUND: A limited number of studies have evaluated burnout in medical students of postgraduate schools in psychiatry and no information is available about its correlations with sexual functioning. The current study investigated the level of burnout in a group of medical students of postgraduate schools in psychiatry and examined its association to sexual dysfunctions and quality of life. METHODS: Forty-one medical students of post-graduate schools in Psychiatry completed the Arizona Sexual Functioning Scale (ASEX), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and the Medical Outcome Short Form Health Survey SF-12 (SF-12), which evaluate physical and emotional quality of life. RESULTS: A percentage of 14.6% of responders reported high levels of emotional distress, 4.9% reported a high degree of depersonalization. Sexual dysfunction was observed on the ASEX in 12.2% of the study group. Subjects with sexual dysfunction endorsed a significantly higher degree of burnout, particularly in relation with emotional exhaustion. Depersonalization and occupational workloads were not significantly different in subjects with or without sexual dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study show that a relevant number of students endorse relatively high levels of burnout, which may negatively impact on their quality of life and on patient care. Practical implications and study limitations, including the small sample size, are discussed