Diagnostic radiology resident compliance with recommended health guidelines: effect of resident work environment.

Rationale And Objectives: To determine diagnostic radiology resident compliance with recommended health guidelines for physical activity, body weight, diet, related health indicators, and the effects of the resident work environment on compliance.

Materials And Methods: A request was electronically mailed to members of the Association of Program Directors in Radiology and the Association of Program Coordinators in Radiology in May 2007 and again in June 2007, asking members to forward to their radiology residents an invitation to complete an online health survey. Frequency counts and Fisher's exact test, respectively, were used to summarize results and to determine statistically significant relationships between survey variables.

Results: A total of 811 radiology residents completed the survey, representing 18% of 4,412 diagnostic radiology residents. Five hundred forty-five (67.2%) of 811 were male and 264 (32.6%) female. Two hundred ten (25.9%) were first-year, 239 (29.5%) second-year, 201 (24.8%) third-year, and 161 (19.9%) fourth-year residents. Three hundred two (37.2%) engaged in recommended guidelines for physical activity and < or =465 (57.3%) complied with each of multiple federal dietary guidelines (excluding alcohol intake). Up to 329 (40.6%) residents did not know whether they were in compliance with various dietary guidelines. A total of 426 (52.5%) residents reported working > or =60 hours/week, which significantly correlated with less physical activity (P = .013).

Conclusion: A substantial number of residents are out of compliance with federal guidelines for physical activity and diet and are not knowledgeable about their personal dietary intake. Long work hours are related to a lack of physical activity. Radiology programs may be able to influence resident health practices by modifying work hours and the working environment, encouraging healthy dietary intake and physical activity, and instituting campaigns to inform residents and faculty about health guidelines and available wellness programs.