LAUSR

BACKGROUND There have been few large-scale nationally representative studies on the prevalence of substance use among doctors. Additionally, the association of different medical specialties with the use of different substances requires further research. AIMS This study aimed to investigate how the use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs varied between junior doctors enrolled in different specialty training programmes. METHODS A secondary analysis was conducted on a national survey of 12,252 Australian doctors. The population of interest was junior doctors currently enrolled in a specialty training programme, termed Vocational Trainees (VTs) (n=1890, 15.4% overall sample). Self-report prevalence of current alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use were assessed, and hazardous alcohol use was assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Logistic regression was used to examine the association between specialty and substance use, adjusting for demographic characteristics when required. RESULTS One in six VTs reported hazardous levels of alcohol use (n=268, 17.3%). After adjusting for confounders, the association between the prevalence of alcohol use and the specialties of emergency medicine/ICU (OR=2.15, 95% CI:1.40-3.32, p<0.001), anaesthetics (OR=2.53, 95% CI:1.35-4.76, p=0.004) and obstetrics/gynaecology (OR=1.89, 95% CI:1.19-3.02, p=0.007) remained significant. No significant associations were found between tobacco use/illicit drug use/hazardous alcohol use and medical specialty. CONCLUSIONS While rates of substance use and hazardous alcohol use in VTs are similar, if not lower, to the general population, it poses a concern that there are higher rates of alcohol use in certain medical specialties. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.