High risk of burnout in medical students in Serbia, by gender: A cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: Burnout syndrome is common among medical students, but findings about the gender differences in burnout are not consistent. The aim of this study was to assess high risk of burnout syndrome among medical students at one University in Serbia, by gender. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac in 2014. The Maslach Burnout Inventory—Student Survey was used for assessment of burnout level. A questionnaire on basic socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, marital status, habits, etc.) and academic performance (year of study, cumulative total average grade, length of study, housing, study financing, etc.) was used. The study included a total of 760 medical students (760/836 medical students; participation rate: 90.9%). Logistic regression analysis was used to determine odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS: Significant gender differences were detected in prevalence of high risk of burnout syndrome (male students– 19.0% vs. female students– 12.8%, p = 0.024). A significant independent predictor of high risk for burnout syndrome in male medical students was study year (p for trend = 0.011), while in female medical students–study year (p for trend = 0.002) and use of sedatives (adjusted OR = 5.74, 95% CI = 1.96–16.77, p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate the need to assess the risk of burnout syndrome at the very beginning of medical studies, in order to more effectively control the modifiable risk factors.