Burnout, depression, and suicidal ideation among Chinese hospital physicians: prevalence and the distinct roles of research and teaching pressure.
- 1Faculty of Health and Wellness, City University of Macau, Macau SAR, China.
- 2Department of Child Health Care, Luzhou People's Hospital, Luzhou, China.
- 3Department of Scientific Research and Teaching, Beijing Genertec Aerospace Hospital, Beijing, China.
Abstract
Background
Physician mental health is a global concern, but comprehensive data from China, the home to one of the world's largest medical workforces, remains limited. We assessed the prevalence of burnout, depression, and suicidal ideation among Chinese hospital physicians and examined their comorbidity patterns, instrument concordance, and associated occupational factors.Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional study from September to November 2025 across four selected regions in China using purposive sampling. A total of 961 physicians completed validated mental health assessments. Burnout was assessed with the Professional Fulfillment Index (PFI) as the primary instrument and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) for cross-validation. We measured depression using the four-item Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Depression Short Form (T-scores calibrated to the USA reference population), and past-year suicidal ideation with a validated single-item measure. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify independent correlates of each outcome.Results
Of 961 physicians, 644 (67.0%) met PFI criteria for high burnout and 529 (55.0%) met MBI-HSS criteria; instrument agreement was moderate (Cohen's kappa = 0.55). Moderate-to-severe depression (PROMIS T-score ≥60) affected 363 (37.8%) physicians, and 41 (4.3%) reported past-year suicidal ideation. Research pressure and teaching pressure were both independently associated with burnout but showed divergent patterns: research pressure was associated with emotional exhaustion and appeared more evident among junior physicians, whereas teaching pressure was associated with depersonalisation and was significantly associated with burnout among senior physicians in Fujian-inclusive analyses. Income satisfaction was the strongest modifiable protective factor against both burnout and depression.Conclusions
In this purposive multi-region sample, burnout and depression were common, and prevalence estimates were instrument dependent. The divergent association patterns of research and teaching pressure across burnout dimensions and career stages suggest that future studies should test whether targeted, stage-specific institutional reforms are warranted. Income dissatisfaction warrants attention as a potentially modifiable risk factor in future longitudinal research.
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BibTeX
@article{bao2026burnout,
title = {{Burnout, depression, and suicidal ideation among Chinese hospital physicians: prevalence and the distinct roles of research and teaching pressure.}},
author = {Xingyu Bao and Yanan Zhao and Tingkun Yang and Ping Huang and Dan Guo},
journal = {Journal of global health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.7189/jogh.16.04323},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42924629},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Burnout, depression, and suicidal ideation among Chinese hospital physicians: prevalence and the distinct roles of research and teaching pressure.
AU - Xingyu Bao
AU - Yanan Zhao
AU - Tingkun Yang
AU - Ping Huang
AU - Dan Guo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Journal of global health
DO - 10.7189/jogh.16.04323
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42924629
AB - Background Physician mental health is a global concern, but comprehensive data from China, the home to one of the world's largest medical workforces, remains limited. We assessed the prevalence of burnout, depression, and suicidal ideation among Chinese hospital physicians and examined their comorbidity patterns, instrument concordance, and associated occupational factors.Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study from September to November 2025 across four selected regions in China using purposive sampling. A total of 961 physicians completed validated mental health assessments. Burnout was assessed with the Professional Fulfillment Index (PFI) as the primary instrument and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) for cross-validation. We measured depression using the four-item Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Depression Short Form (T-scores calibrated to the USA reference population), and past-year suicidal ideation with a validated single-item measure. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify independent correlates of each outcome.Results Of 961 physicians, 644 (67.0%) met PFI criteria for high burnout and 529 (55.0%) met MBI-HSS criteria; instrument agreement was moderate (Cohen's kappa = 0.55). Moderate-to-severe depression (PROMIS T-score ≥60) affected 363 (37.8%) physicians, and 41 (4.3%) reported past-year suicidal ideation. Research pressure and teaching pressure were both independently associated with burnout but showed divergent patterns: research pressure was associated with emotional exhaustion and appeared more evident among junior physicians, whereas teaching pressure was associated with depersonalisation and was significantly associated with burnout among senior physicians in Fujian-inclusive analyses. Income satisfaction was the strongest modifiable protective factor against both burnout and depression.Conclusions In this purposive multi-region sample, burnout and depression were common, and prevalence estimates were instrument dependent. The divergent association patterns of research and teaching pressure across burnout dimensions and career stages suggest that future studies should test whether targeted, stage-specific institutional reforms are warranted. Income dissatisfaction warrants attention as a potentially modifiable risk factor in future longitudinal research.
SN - 2047-2978
SN - 2047-2986
ER -