M. Dahlin, P. Vaglum, J. O. Røvik, I. Bjelland, N. T. Grønvold, Ø. Ekeberg. Norra Stockholms psykiatri/Kar Psykiatri, Stockholm, Sweden

M. Casas. Unitat de Psychiatria Hospital, Barcelona, Spain

P. Lusilla. Impaired Physicians Program (P, Barcelona, Spain

R. Tyssen. Department of Behavioural Scie, Oslo, Norway

Addictions have been described as a major cause of impairment in physicians. The high prevalence of addictive behaviours in doctors has been attributed to different reasons: stress, burn-out, selfmedication, etc. This symposium aims at reviewing the characteristics of addictive behaviours across the lifespan of physicians, including the initial years at the medical school. Few studies have addressed the question of previous drug use among medical students and young doctors. That's why the first presentation (Alcohol use and illicit drug exposure among Swedish medical students and first-year interns) addresses the topic of drug use among medical students in Sweden. The transition from medical school to clinical work and its relevance concerning the use of drugs will be described in the second presentation, that focuses in alcohol consumption during the first ten postgraduate years of clinical work in Norwegian doctors (Use of alcohol and depression among Norwegian doctors: a 10-year longitudinal study). The third presentation describes epidemiological data on substance misuse among a large sample of anaesthesiologists, one of the medical specialties where higher rates of substance abuse have been reported (Substance misuse in a sample of 3700 French anaesthesiologists). Finally, the influence of addictive behaviours in the severity of impairment is analyzed in a sample of inpatient sick physicians from Spain (Sick physicians: How relevant are addictive behaviours for impairment). Those four studies offer a wide perspective on the use of drugs in different European countries and in different life stages of physicians.