Frequency of chronic diseases, health behaviors, and quality of life among physicians: a cross-sectional study

The health of the physician workforce is a critical issue, as it directly affects both occupational health and the effectiveness of healthcare delivery. This study evaluated physicians’ health status and quality of life in relation to occupational factors. This cross-sectional study was conducted among actively practicing physicians in Samsun, Türkiye, via an online survey. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, occupational features, health status and behaviors, and quality of life-via Short Form-36 (SF-36)-were collected. A total of 207 physicians participated, 57.4% of whom were women. At least one chronic disease was reported by 45.9% of the participants, whereas 29.9% reported more than one. The most frequently reported problems were musculoskeletal disorders. Among those with chronic diseases, 78.9% utilized healthcare services, and 22.1% reported taking sick leave in the past 12 months. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, age (OR = 1.09, 95% CI:1.019–1.167) and economic status (OR = 0.313, 95% CI:0.151–0.649) were significantly associated with the presence of chronic disease. After Bonferroni correction, physicians in internal medicine specialties had significantly higher mental health scores than those in surgical specialties (p = 0.006). Physicians with chronic diseases scored lower in physical functioning, role-physical and emotional, social functioning, bodily pain, and general perception of health compared with those without chronic diseases (p < 0.05). Correlation analysis revealed a weak but statistically significant positive association between duration of professional experience and both vitality (r = 0.14, p = 0.044) and social functioning scores (r = 0.164, p = 0.019). Conversely, longer weekly working hours and a higher number of monthly night shifts were associated with lower scores across most SF-36 domains (p < 0.05). Chronic diseases were common among physicians. Sex, the presence of chronic disease, and occupational variables contributed to differences across multiple domains of quality of life. Strategies to protect and improve physician health should be supported by comprehensive studies that assess work-related risk factors via standardized measures.