RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Physicians spearhead the prevention and management of cardiovascular diseases, however, there is a paucity of studies that have assessed the cardiovascular risk profiles of physicians in Africa. We aimed to determine the cardiovascular health indices of a cross-section of physicians in Nigeria. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical doctors in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria, with different specialties being proportionally represented. Sociodemographic, work-associated, and cardiovascular factors, together with anthropometry and Fuster-BEWAT score (FBS): blood pressure, exercise, weight (BMI), alimentation and tobacco were used to assess cardiovascular health indices. RESULTS: The number of doctors enrolled in this study was 251 with a median age of 34; 51.4% were males. While the mean FBS was 7.8 (±2.1), 1.6% of physicians had ideal FBS, as 59.4% and 39.0% had intermediate and poor FBS respectively. A small proportion of doctors had adequate fruit or vegetable intake (1.2%), or exercise (10.4%). The percentages of doctors who had ideal blood pressure and BMI were 46.6% and 27.9% respectively. Almost all doctors were non-smokers (98.4 %). Medical officers and residents had better cardiovascular health compared to consultants. There was no statistically significant association between cardiovascular health score and other work-associated factors. CONCLUSION: The composite cardiovascular health index of physicians was assessed as intermediate (7.8 on a maximum scale of 15). Positive deviants were normotensive blood pressure (46.6%) and tobacco use (98.4%). We recommend that Nigerian physicians need to improve weight, exercise, and alimentation cardiovascular health practices.
RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Physician burn-out was an issue before the pandemic. Medical personnel have faced several clinical and non-clinical challenges because of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, which predisposes them to burn-out. There is a paucity of studies that shed light on the level of burn-out and its association with work-related factors for Nigerian medical doctors. This study aims to examine the level of burn-out among Nigerian medical doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic and explore possible associations between burn-out and sociodemographic, work-related and COVID-19-related factors. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 251 medical doctors in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. A questionnaire was used to obtain sociodemographic history, work-associated factors, COVID-19-related parameters and burn-out history. Personal, work-related and patient-related burn-out were evaluated with the use of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. RESULTS: The number of doctors enrolled in this study was 251 with a median age of 34; 51.4% were males. The percentage of doctors who had personal, work-related and patient-related burn-out were 62.2%, 52.2 % and 27.5%, respectively. The univariate analysis revealed a correlation between burn-out scores and cadre, age, sex, years of experience, marital status, weekly work hours and number of calls. After multiple regression, female gender (p=0.012), those with less than 6 years of work experience (p=0.004) and those working for at least 71 hours in a week (p=0.0001) remained correlated with higher burn-out scores. Additionally, physicians who had a person with COVID-19 in their immediate environment had an independent correlation with higher work-related burn-out scores (p=0.043). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of burn-out is high among Nigerian doctors and is linked to some sociodemographic, work-related and COVID-19-related factors. Due to the adverse effects of burn-out on physician well-being and patient care, strategies need to be put in place to identify and mitigate burn-out among Nigerian physicians.