Background:Rheumatology is considered a low-risk specialty, but studies have shown a prevalence of burnout between 42% to 51%1,2. Factors associated with it include the use of electronic medical records, administrative tasks and prolonged working hours. This has several repercussions such as higher prevalence of depression/anxiety and less productivity.Objectives:To determine the prevalence of burnout in rheumatologists in Latin America and the factors associated with it.Methods:Cross-sectional study based on a survey completed through Google Forms platform that was sent by the national rheumatology associations of Latin America. Burnout was assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) with cut off values of ≥27 for emotional exhaustion (EE), ≥10 for depersonalization (DP), and ≤33 for personal accomplishment (PA). Other variables were studied such as demographics, working conditions, satisfaction, comorbidities, depression using PHQ-9 and happiness using the Subjective Happiness Scale. Data was analyzed using the statistical program SPSS v.22.Results:297 rheumatologists from 15 countries were included, mainly Argentina (28.3%), Brazil (26.3%) and Mexico (12.8%). The majority were women 62%, 42.4% worked in public hospitals with an average of 40.1 ± 14.2 hours per week. 31.3% did research, 13.1% clinical trials, 56.6% teaching, and 42.8% administrative work. 36% received an annual income less than 25K.56.6% had burnout in at least 1 dimension. According to the dimensions, 35.7% had burnout in EE, 25.6% in PA and 26.6% in DP. 32.3% had burnout in only 1 dimension, 17.2% in two and 7.1% in all three dimensions. Only 20.2% thought they had burnout, 9.1% were currently with professional help and 15.8% had sought help in the past. 72.1% said they were willing to participate in a program to reduce burnout.The rheumatologists with burnout were younger than those without burnout (46.5 vs 49.9 years, p = 0.015), mentioned more frequently that they would like to decrease the number of working hours (56.5% vs 36.4%, p = 0.002) and had lower practice satisfaction (5.2 vs 6.2, p <0.001) and income satisfaction (3.4 vs 4.6, p <0.001). Those with burnout were less happy than those without burnout (5.1 vs 5.9, p <0.001) and had higher PHQ-9 (7.7 vs 2.5, p <0.001). In the burnout group, there was a higher percentage with an income less than $ 25K/year (45.7% vs 25.4%, p=0.008), presence of comorbidities (53.6% vs 40.3%, p=0.023), anxiety (11.9 % vs. 2.3%, p=0.002), use of SSRIs/SNRIs (19% vs 8.5%, p=0.011), suicidal thoughts (13.6% vs 1.6%, p <0.001) and low self-esteem (12.5% vs 3.1%, p <0.001). There was a higher percentage of rheumatologists involved in teaching in the group without burnout (66.7% vs 48.8%, p = 0.002). No statistically significant associations were found between burnout and sex, exercise, alcohol consumption, duration of career, main workplace, type of clinical practice, duration of vacation, clinical research, clinical trials and administrative work.Conclusion:Burnout affects near half of rheumatologists in Latin America and was associated to younger age, long working hours, low satisfaction, less happiness, higher PHQ-9, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, income, presence of comorbidities and low self-esteem. Most of the rheumatologists were willing to participate in programs to reduce burnout which represents an opportunity for interventions to reduce this syndrome.References:[1]Martin K. Medscape Rheumatologist Lifestyle, Happiness & Burnout Report 2020. 2020; Available at: https://www.medscape.com/slideshow/2020-lifestyle-rheumatologist-6012480#4. Accessed July 10, 2020.[2]Tiwari V, Kavanaugh A, Martin G, Bergman M. High impact of burnout on rheumatology practitioners. Journal of rheumatology 2020:jrheum.191110.Disclosure of Interests:None declared
A Tale of Two Degrees: Always Ask Why
