Lifestyle Habits and Wellbeing Among Physicians in Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction Physicians’ attitude towards a healthy lifestyle is important as it determines their extent of acceptance of these habits leading to overall well-being. Physicians with healthy lifestyle habits are more confident in advocating the same to their patients and their patients are keener in adopting lifestyle modifications. This study aimed to evaluate the lifestyle habits, wellbeing, and mental health of physicians in Pakistan. Methods A multi-center, cross-sectional survey was conducted with physicians across Pakistan from August to October 2020. A total of 1406 participants were gathered by the non-probability convenient sampling technique. Data were collected physically from the participants. A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire comprising socio-demographic information, lifestyle habits, mental well-being, and well-being, in general, was filled. Mental wellbeing was assessed using the Warwick Edinburg Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) comprising 14-positive items scored on a 1-5 point Likert scale where 1 corresponds to “none of the time” and 5 corresponds to “all of the time.” The score ranges from a minimum of 14 to a maximum of 70 points. Higher scores are associated with higher levels of mental wellbeing. Data were stored and analyzed using IBM-SPSS v.23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results In this survey, there were 1284 (91.3%) males and 122 (8.7%) females with a mean age of 44.09 ± 11.18 years. More than half (n=768; 53.0%) of the physicians reported their general health as “good," 1045 (73%) were satisfied with their work-life balance, 206 (14%) had seen a physician for their health in the last six months, and 358 (25%) never had a routine medical checkup. When WEMWBS was applied, participants ≤40 years scored significantly higher than the older age group (p<0.01). Male physicians also scored significantly higher on WEMWBS (52.35 ± 8.78) as compared to their female counterparts (p<0.01). WEMWBS scores also varied significantly across various levels of expertise - with consultants scoring the highest (52.67 ± 9.02) and others scoring the lowest (48.63 ± 8.58; p=0.02). Physicians practicing in the public hospitals only (53.05 ± 9.02), scored higher on WEMWBS as compared to those in the private hospitals (51.28 ± 8.12) as well as those practicing in private clinics only (49.57 ± 8.82; p<0.01). Physicians who perceived their health as excellent scored highest on WEMWBS (53.55 ± 9.31), than those who considered their health good (51.68 ± 8.40), poor (50.71 ± 9.27), or fair (48.70 ± 8.15; p<0.01). The correlation analysis showed a significant negative correlation of WEMWBS scores with health in general (2.5% variation) and age (0.92% variation; p<0.01). Conclusion Physicians in our study were mostly satisfied with their general health and work-life balance. Nevertheless, their mental health well-being was not satisfactory, as assessed by WEMWBS. There is a dire need for lifestyle modifications among the medical practitioners who may improve their mental and physical well-being subsequently allowing them to cater to their patients more effectively. It is recommended that physician-patient-specific interventions should be developed to target the health status and mental well-being of a physician and to encourage the physicians especially the fresh medical graduates and young doctors to indulge in healthy activities.