Are Physicians Healthy When They Are Aged and Retired? A Survey of the Ankara Chamber of Medicine and the Turkish Geriatrics Society.

In literature, there is a lack of knowledge about clinical and lifestyle characteristics of retired physicians. Aim of the study is to describe the health profile of older physicians registered to the Ankara Chamber of Medicine (Ankara, Turkey). Two hundred and seventy four registered physicians agreed to participate to a survery. Most of them (76.6%) were men. Mean age was 74.9 (standard deviation 6.3) years. More than 85% of the participants presented at least one chronic disease. High scores were reported for the role-physical component of the SF-36, differently from the general health section of it scoring low. The results of the present survey pose the basis for collaborative efforts from the Ankara Chamber of Medicine and the Turkish Geriatrics Society collaboratively to improve the design and development of services for local older physicians.