The health and health care of doctors

A postal survey of 1,500 doctors who had qualified between 1935 and 1959 and were in active practice in Great Britian elicited 988 replies (a 66 per cent response rate). Nine hundred and thirty-two of the replies were suitable for analysis. There were few differences between hospital doctors and general practitioners in reported medical histories: respiratory tuberculosis had occurred more often among hospital doctors; other respiratory diseases were slightly more common among general practitioners, as were diseases of the digestive tract.The view held by some members of the profession that doctors receive poor medical care was not confirmed. There is, however, cause for disquiet at the possible consequences of self-treatment and the financial implications of illness.