The sexuality of doctors in training, interns and residents, is not well explored, especially in its relation to daily stress. The aim of this study is to evaluate the sexual desire of this population, and the effect of burnout caused by the studies and the hospital work, on this function.

Medical trainees from our institution (université Saint Joseph de Beyrouth – Hôtel-Dieu de France), interns and residents, were invited to complete a demographic questionnaire, questions about their work conditions, and validated questionnaires on burnout and sexuality. Selected instruments included “Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)” and “Sexual Desire Inventory (SDI)”. Statistical correlations were established using the Student's test, Spearmen's or Pearson's Correlations by type of dependent variable, Chi² and Anova tests when needed.

We obtained 262 responses from a population of 300 trainees (131 men and 131 women, mean age 25.1 years). Among them, 123 (46.9%) reported a high burnout score, 137 (52.3%) a high depersonalization score, and 120 (45.8%) a low professional achievement score. Regarding sexuality scores, 21% of men suffered from low sexual desire, compared to 70% of women. It seems that there is a correlation going in the same direction: the more the burnout increases, the more the sexual desire increases, especially among the male population.

These results provide insights into the sexual life of medical students. The rate of low sexual desire among women in medicine in our institution is higher than the world's standard. Additional research is needed.