Burnout in medical students: A longitudinal study in a Portuguese medical school

BACKGROUND: Burnout is highly prevalent among medical students. This study aimed to assess burnout levels over the course of a semester and identify variables that might explain burnout’s variance over time. METHOD: This longitudinal study involved medical students from a Portuguese school. Participants completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory and Mental Health Inventory-5, along with questions related to social support, help-seeking behaviours, academic performance, mental health and lifestyle assessment at the beginning (first phase), middle (second phase) and end (third phase) of the first semester of 2018–2019 academic year. RESULTS: A total of 108 participants provided responses in all phases (paired sample). The prevalence of burnout in the first phase was 28.2%, which increased to 34% in the second and 39.5% in the third. To explore factors contributing to burnout levels, we used the 332 responses obtained in the third phase (non-paired sample). Higher burnout levels were associated with poor academic performance, mental health stigma, consumption of tranquillisers and living away from home. Conversely, they were negatively associated with social support and a healthy lifestyle. CONCLUSIONS: The study reveals a high prevalence of burnout among medical students, with burnout levels increasing throughout the semester. These levels are influenced by modifiable variables.