BackgroundTo the best of our knowledge, studies are lacking on burnout among veterinary students in Serbia, and this is the first study trying to address such a problem. Therefore, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the predictors of burnout among Belgrade veterinary students. MethodsMaslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and anonymous structured questionnaire addressed to personal data, health habits and stressful influence of educational process were applied among 496 respondents from a total of 1113 students from all grades in spring semester 2014 (response rate 44.6%). ResultsThe prevalence of burnout was 43.3%. High scores on depersonalization and emotional exhaustion scales of MBI were found among 79.4% and 45.0% students, respectively; low personal accomplishment was reported by 50.5% students. Female students reported higher levels of emotional exhaustion compared to males (p = 0.012). A low score on personal achievement scale of MBI was least frequent among the freshmen and most frequent among sophomores (41.1% and 65.3%, respectively; p = 0.986). There were more students with burnout who considered their health as a worsened vs. pre-study period compared to students with no burnout, both concerning mental (61.4% vs. 38.6%) and physical health (61.1% vs. 38.9%; both p<0.001). There were more smokers among students who suffered from burnout compared to students who did not (52.0% vs. 48.0%; p = 0.013). A multiple regression revealed an independent dose-response effect of perceived stress at exams on the onset of burnout (moderate stress OR = 2.164 and high stress OR = 3.878). Also, students with the moderate and high stressful effect of communication with teaching staff, as PLOS ONE

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Academic stress makes great influence on mental health of medical students. Reduction of stress effects should be directed to optimization of the examination process and improvement of communication skills.

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Although tinnitus is a very common symptom, risk factors related to behavior and habits have not been sufficiently investigated. As no investigation on this problem has been performed in Serbia, the aim of our study was to establish the prevalence of tinnitus among Serbian adolescents and to investigate the relationship between their behavior and habits and tinnitus. This investigation was designed as a cross-sectional interview study among secondary school students in Belgrade, Serbia (277 boys and 494 girls). An anonymous questionnaire was self-administered at classes. The investigated variables were: The presence of tinnitus, sources of noise, night outs at noisy places, use of personal music players, smoking, second hand smoke (SHS), substance abuse, coffee and alcohol consumption. Spearman's rank-order correlations and multiple logistic regressions were performed with variables related to behavior and habits as independent ones and tinnitus as a dichotomized dependent variable. Tinnitus was reported by 99 students (12.8%), more frequently among girls compared with boys (P = 0.009). Multivariate logistic regression analysis in boys revealed a significant independent effect of a regular drug abuse on the onset of tinnitus. The chances of tinnitus were 13 times higher among drug addicts compared with non-drug users (odds ratio [OR] and 95% confidence interval [CI] for tinnitus = 13.072; 1.335-127.946). In girls, the significant independent effect on tinnitus was found for daily duration of exposure to SHS (OR and 95% CI for tinnitus = 1.328; 1.073-1.644 /per 2 hours of exposure/).

Main objective: There are still gaps in the knowledge about the factors that influenceburnout among medical students. This study examines the relationship between thelength of medical studies, academic achievement, self-estimated health and burnout.Sample: We administered an anonymous questionnaire to 769 second-year and sixthyearmedical students (69.2 % females) to collect data on age, sex, length of study,average grade, and self-estimated mental and physical health.Methods: The students completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) on emotionalexhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP) and personal accomplishment (PA) subscales.Results: The sophomores experienced a higher level of emotional exhaustion,depersonalization and personal accomplishment compared to the students in thesixth year (MBI scores - EE /29.03±11.02 vs. 23.73±10.91/; DP /16.23±5.95 vs.13.93±5.82/ PA /32.26±7.18 vs. 30.46±7.91/ respectively, all p < 0.001). The poorerself-estimated mental and physical health, in comparison to the period before theirstudies, was positively related to the scores on EE (ρ =0.381 and 0.257, respectively)and DP subscales (ρ =0.296 and 0.209, respectively) and negatively to PA subscale(ρ =-0.211 and -0.121, respectively, all p <0.001). The higher the average grade, thelower depersonalization and the higher personal accomplishment were found amongthe students (ρ = -0.094 and 0.121, respectively; p < 0,05). Low self-estimated healthstatus and poorer academic achievement were the main explanatory factors of a highburnout level in a multiple regression analysis.Conclusion: The burnout syndrome is more pronounced at the beginning of medicalstudies compared to the final years. A high level of burnout is mainly influenced bylow self-estimated health status and worse academic achievement.Keywords: burnout; mental health; stress; students---SažetakGlavni cilj: još uvijek postoje praznine u znanju o čimbenicima koji utječu na burnout(sindrom izgaranja) među studentima medicine. Ova studija ispituje odnos izmeđuduljine medicinskih studija, akademskoga postignuća, samoprocjene zdravlja iizgaranja. Uzorak: Primijenili smo anonimni upitnik među 769 studenata drugegodine i šeste godine (69,2 % žena) radi prikupljanja podataka o dobi, spolu, duljinistudija, prosječnoj ocjeni i samoprocjeni o mentalnom i tjelesnom zdravlju. Studentisu ispunili Maslach Burnout Inventory upitnik (MBI) o emocionalnoj iscrpljenosti(EE), depersonalizaciji (DP) i osobnim postignućima (PA). Studenti druge godinedoživjeli su veću emocionalnu iscrpljenost i depersonalizaciju i niže osobno postignućeu usporedbi sa studentima šeste godine (MBI ocjene - EE /29,03 %, 11,02 nasuprot16,23 ± 5,95 /; DP / 32,26 ±7,18 nasuprot 23,73 ± 10,91 / PA / 13,93 ± 5,82 nasuprot30,46 ± 7,91 / svi p <0,001). Pogoršanje samoprocjene mentalnoga i tjelesnogazdravlja u odnosu na razdoblje prije istraživanja pozitivno se odnosilo na rezultatena EE (ρ = 0,381 i 0,257, i potkategorije DP (ρ = 0,296, odnosno 0,209, respektivno)i negativno na potkategoriju PA (ρ =-0.211, odnosno -0.121, svi p <0,001). Što je višaprosječna ocjena, to je bila niža depersonalizacija i viši osobni uspjeh među ispitanimstudentima (ρ = -0.094, odnosno 0,121; p <0,05). Zaljučak: Sindrom izgaranjaizraženiji je među studentima prve godine medicine u odnosu na studente završnegodine studija. Bolje akademsko postignuće zaštita je od izgaranja, a samoprocjenatjelesnoga i mentalnoga zdravlja visoko je u korelaciji sa simptomima izgaranja.Ključne riječi: mentalno zdravlje; sindrom izgaranja; stres; student