Doctors, for the sick, are the hope of life and the gospel of life. Most people think that medical staff with sufficient medical knowledge will definitely pay more attention to health than ordinary people! But to our surprise, the average life expectancy of doctors is 13 years shorter than that of ordinary people!
Recently, a survey released by the Indian Medical Doctor Association (IMA) showed that the average life expectancy of Indian doctors is only 59 years, while the average life expectancy in India can reach 72 years, a difference of 13 years!
01
Doctors live 13 years less than ordinary people!
Produced by / IMA
A study made by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has concluded that doctors, who help patients stay fit, are dying younger as they themselves do not follow the instructions. The data shows that an average Indian lives up to 69-72 years, whereas a doctor lives only up to 55-59 years which is shocking.
It was noticed that most early deaths occur due to cardiac arrests and early malignancies. Inadequate sleep, irregular eating timings, unhealthy diet and lack of exercise are the main culprits that contribute to the phenomenon.
The results of this study show that the Indian medical population is the most vulnerable and vulnerable to early death between the ages of 45 and 65. Only after retiring at the age of 65, with less pressure and regular work and rest, will their life span be naturally extended to over 75 years old.
In addition, studies have shown that the most common causes of early death among Indian doctors are cardiovascular disease and malignancy.
Although this study is about the current life expectancy of Indian doctors, and there is no relevant data on the life expectancy of doctors in the mainland, in recent years, there have been frequent cases of sudden death of Chinese doctors, and they tend to be younger, and the Chinese doctors who are fighting in the front line of clinical practice generally have bad lifestyle habits and high-risk risks, and doctors have become a "high-risk" industry.
Sudden death of doctors every month in 2022!
- On January 11, 2022, Zhoukou Daily reported that a 55-year-old doctor in Henan died suddenly on the front line of the fight against the epidemic;
- On April 20, 2022, Dr. Pan of the Department of Anesthesiology of Shenzhen Second Hospital died suddenly;
- On April 20, 2022, the deputy chief physician of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the Ninth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine died suddenly;
- On May 11, 2022, the executive vice president of Beijing Shijitan Hospital passed away in the ICU;
- ……
02
The health of doctors is not as good as that of ordinary people
In the 2013 China Cardiovascular Disease Report, there is a set of data that is a bit interesting - the health of doctors is not as good as that of ordinary people.
Data show that 1/4 of physicians now suffer from cardiovascular disease, and the prevalence rate of doctors is 25% higher than that of 1/5 of the total population in the country, 1/2 of doctors suffer from hypertension, and the prevalence of male physicians over 40 years old is twice that of the general population. The incidence of hypertension, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, fatty liver and other diseases in the physician team is increasing year by year, and the number of malignant tumors found in physical examination is also gradually increasing.
03
Nearly every doctor has had a near-death experience
In 2014, the Beijing Youth Daily conducted a survey into doctors' fatigue.
According to the survey, nearly half of the doctors surveyed work at least one night shift a week, eight adults take no more than half an hour off at noon, and many even have only 10 minutes for lunch and lunch breaks. Nearly 80 percent of doctors work 8 to 12 hours a day, almost all have worked more than 24 hours straight, half have worked more than 36 hours straight, and about 20 percent have even worked more than 48 hours straight.
"With at least 1-2 night shifts a week, weekend shifts, plus outpatient visits, ward rounds, surgeries, writing medical records, writing papers, and even dealing with medical representatives, I'm sure every doctor has had that near-death feeling. ”
——From the heartfelt words of a chief physician working in the otolaryngology department of a tertiary hospital
04
Those white-clothed angels who are tired to "die of overwork".
Lack of sleep for many years, irregular work and rest in two shifts, irregular eating times, unhealthy eating habits, long-term lack of physical exercise, huge psychological pressure, and the priority of one's own illness gives way to the sick and other potential health dangers...... Under multiple pressures, as a doctor, he often neglects his health and neglects the most basic physical examination once a year, which has become the norm for doctors.
In the face of too many "patients" who do not understand health preservation, too many do not understand health management, and too many do not understand health care, such a professional survival state also directly affects the satisfaction of patients, and even affects the rehabilitation effect of patients. A good doctor who could have served patients for decades collapsed on the side of the operating table after years of high-intensity, high-load work.
05
Doctors live on average shorter?
In 2021, a German lifespan study spanning more than 500 years established a large new dataset of more than 30,000 scholars, spanning the 16th to early 20th centuries.
The study, in which scholars working in the medical profession were singled out, showed that the life expectancy of medical practitioners has been lower than that of academics in other professions, both at universities and universities, large and small, and at higher academies.
While the life expectancy of scholars in other specialties began to climb after the eighteenth century, the comrades studying medicine were still dragging the average life expectancy, which was nearly a hundred years.
In fact, as early as 2019, a survey released by the Indian Medical Doctor Association (IMA) showed that the average life expectancy of Indian doctors is only 59 years old, while the average life expectancy in India is 72 years, a difference of 13 years.
06
Anesthesiologists have the highest rate of sudden death
Orthopedics and cardiovascular medicine followed
"Death from overwork" refers to the destruction of the worker's normal work and life rules in the process of non-physiological labor, and the accumulation of fatigue in the body and the transfer of overwork to the state of overwork, which increases blood pressure, aggravates arteriosclerosis, and then appears fatal.
At this stage, especially under the epidemic, there is a general situation of overwork among doctors.
Before the pandemic, in 2017, a retrospective study published in Public Health pointed out that overwork is the silent killer of Chinese doctors, and that death from overwork has become a serious problem in China, and doctors are also prone to sudden death.
(A). Age of the doctor who died suddenly in 2013-2015.
(B) Distribution of overwork deaths by province in China from 2013 to 2015.
(C). Distribution of continuous working hours of doctors with sudden death, 2013-2015.
(D) Physician overwork deaths by specialty, 2013 to 2015.
The study summarized the reported cases of overwork death of doctors between 2013 and 2015, and found that more than half of the doctors had worked for 8~12 hours before the sudden death, and 11 of them worked for ≥ 24 hours (Fig. 1C). Sudden death was most common in anesthesiology, accounting for 26.1% of all cases, followed by orthopedics and cardiovascular medicine (Figure 1D).
The study also found that from 2013 to 2015, there was an increase in the number of overwork deaths among Chinese doctors. It has previously been reported that the main medical causes of death from overwork are heart attacks and stress-induced strokes. However, these are not the only reasons for doctors to die from overwork, low salaries, large shortage of medical practitioners, etc., have also been found to be the causes of illness among doctors.
07
Why are Chinese doctors so tired?
The main reason for this is the lack of medical resources.
The Chinese make up 22% of the world's population, but China has only 2% of the world's medical resources. In China, there are an average of 1.2 doctors per 1,000 people, while in developed countries, the figure is 2.8 doctors per 1,000.
Anesthesiologists in developed countries usually manage 500~1000 cases per year, while in China, each anesthesiologist needs to manage about 1500 cases per year. This may explain the finding above: overwork deaths most often occur to anesthesiologists. The relationship between anesthesiologists' brain state (such as brain depletion, brain fatigue syndrome, and drowsiness) and the intensity of work may also be the reason why they are more susceptible to sudden death.
The psychological and work pressure caused by poor doctor-patient relationship and low wages of medical staff is another reason for the increase in the rate of sudden death from overwork among doctors. Between 2003 and 2013, there were 101 cases of severe medical violence in China, resulting in the deaths of 24 doctors and nurses. Even today, Chinese medical staff are still at risk of injury at work, which undoubtedly increases the psychological stress for practitioners.
A review of the literature on death by overwork shows that work stress increases the secretion of catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine) and cortisol, which are often responsible for atherosclerosis, and also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
The psychosocial pressures of working in research and teaching, combined with low wages, have led to a decrease in the number of students enrolled in medical schools and the number of people choosing medical specialties. This further exacerbates the scarcity of medical resources. On the other hand, doctors are often negligent about their own health, which can lead to an increase in the prevalence of underlying diseases in the physician population.
08
How many of the top 10 "death from overwork" red flags have you hit
The Japan Association for the Prevention of Death by Overwork has reminded the body of ten red flags:
1. "General's belly" appeared early;
2. Alopecia, alopecia areata, premature alopecia;
3. Go to the bathroom frequently;
4. Decreased sexual performance;
5. Memory loss;
6. Mental arithmetic ability is getting worse and worse;
7. Often regret doing things, irritable, irritable, pessimistic, and difficult to control their emotions;
8. The ability to concentrate is getting worse and worse;
9. The sleeping time is getting shorter and shorter, and it is difficult to wake up;
10. Frequent headaches, tinnitus, dizziness, and no results in examination.
Those who have the above two items are under a "yellow light" warning period, so there is no need to worry about it at present, but they need to change their lifestyle habits. Those with 3 to 5 of the above are in the "red light" forecast period, indicating that there are signs of excessive fatigue. If there are more than six items, it is a dangerous period of two "red lights", which must be paid close attention and intervened.
I have something to say......
Overwork in the healthcare community is a medical and social problem. To solve this problem, public hospital reform is urgent.
Calls for attention to the "widespread overwork of healthcare workers" have been going on for quite some time, but we do not know how long we still have to go, and we should formulate and implement relevant regulations as soon as possible to ensure reasonable working hours for medical workers to prevent and reduce the phenomenon of overwork deaths among medical staff.