Item type: | Article | ||||
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Journal or Publication Title: | Psychoneuroendocrinology | ||||
Publisher: | Elsevier | ||||
Volume: | 143 | ||||
Number of Issue or Book Chapter: | 105853 | ||||
Date: | 27 June 2022 | ||||
Institutions: | Medicine > Lehrstuhl für Klinische Chemie und Laboratoriumsmedizin Medicine > Institut für Epidemiologie und Präventivmedizin Human Sciences > Institut für Psychologie > Lehrstuhl für Psychologie VII (Medizinische Psychologie, Psychologische Diagnostik und Methodenlehre) - Prof. Dr. Brigitte Kudielka | ||||
Projects: | DFG KU 1401/9-1, DFG KU 1401/9-2 | ||||
Identification Number: |
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Keywords: | Allostatic load, burnout, chronic work stress, effort-reward imbalance, Regensburg Burnout Project, depression | ||||
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 100 Philosophy & psychology > 150 Psychology | ||||
Status: | Published | ||||
Refereed: | Yes, this version has been refereed | ||||
Created at the University of Regensburg: | Yes | ||||
Item ID: | 53565 |
Abstract
Background Burnout and chronic work stress have been linked to various negative health outcomes. While the mechanisms underlying this interplay are still unclear, the allostatic load (AL) model was suggested to demonstrate a possible biological pathway. However, previous studies provided divergent results regarding the association between burnout and AL, probably also due to the heterogeneity of ...

Abstract
Background
Burnout and chronic work stress have been linked to various negative health outcomes. While the mechanisms underlying this interplay are still unclear, the allostatic load (AL) model was suggested to demonstrate a possible biological pathway. However, previous studies provided divergent results regarding the association between burnout and AL, probably also due to the heterogeneity of selected samples. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine differences in AL between a conceptually strictly specified group of individuals suffering from burnout (BO group) and a healthy comparison group (HC group).
Methods
After a multi-stage recruitment procedure with strict inclusion criteria based on burnout symptomatology and pathogenesis, the BO group (n = 56) was compared to the HC group (n = 65) regarding an index of AL. The AL-index included 14 parameters: high-sensitivity c-reactive protein (hsCRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), fibrinogen, d-dimer, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratio (TC/HDL), dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate (DHEA-S), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), waist-hip ratio (WHR), and body fat percentage.
Results
The BO group showed significantly higher AL-scores in comparison to the HC group. This effect remained significant after adjusting for sex, age, and smoking status. Additionally, burnout symptoms (assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory; MBI), MBI-subscales emotional exhaustion and depersonalization as well as chronic work stress (assessed with the effort-reward imbalance questionnaire) were significantly associated with higher AL-scores.
Conclusions
Consistent with our hypothesis, we detected higher AL-scores in the BO compared to the HC group, indicating a greater cumulative physiological burden in individuals suffering from burnout. Given the high heterogeneity in individuals experiencing burnout symptoms, future studies may focus on well-specified subgroups, when examining the association between burnout and psychophysiological dysregulations.
Metadata last modified: 24 Jan 2023 05:48