Health study: One in two doctors training to become general practitioners in Ireland feel they neglect their health, new research has shown.
It has also found that one in three doctors self-referred to consultants when they had a medical problem, in breach of guidelines which advise doctors to ensure they have a personal GP.
And many of the respondents prescribed for themselves despite being aware that this is not recommended.
The doctors, most of whom were recent graduates aged between 26 and 30, had above average participation in exercise.
However, 60 per cent of the female doctors drank over the recommended intake for alcohol, and all of those who smoked were female.
The research, "Attitudes towards self health: a survey of GP trainees in Ireland", was carried out by Dr Grainne Ní Uallacháin last year.
Dr Ní Uallacháin, a recent graduate of the Western Health Board general practice training programme, won an award for her research at last weekend's annual meeting of the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP).
"This study highlights that haphazard self-care is being practised by GP trainees from early on in their careers with 49 per cent feeling they neglect their own health," she told The Irish Times.
She added that, up to now, much of the work in this area had been carried out on established GPs and senior hospital doctors.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, for back pain and sports injuries, were the commonest category of drug used for self-medication by the younger GPs.
However, 16 per cent of those surveyed had prescribed sleeping tablets for themselves, usually to relieve the sleep disturbance caused by on-call rotas.
A total of 69 per cent of female and 56 per cent of male trainees said they had worked through illness while 73 per cent of female doctors felt guilty if they had to take sick leave.
Some 93 per cent of those surveyed reported feeling physically exhausted by their work as doctors; more than 90 per cent also reported feeling emotionally exhausted as a result of their occupation.
Dr Ní Uallacháin said her study showed the need to improve awareness of this area from the beginning of a doctor's career and suggested it be formally incorporated into training schemes for aspiring GPs.
"The implications of reduced health and well-being of a doctor is serious for themselves and their patients," she said.