Burnout syndrome and abdominal adiposity among Primary Health Care nursing professionals

Abstract

Background: Accumulation of abdominal adiposity (AA) constitutes a risk factor for heart and coronary diseases and for metabolic complications. Research suggests that stress is related to adipogenesis. The burnout syndrome (BS) is linked to stress due to the chronicity of work stress. The objective of this study is to estimate the association between BS and AA in Primary Health Care (PHC) nursing practitioners. Methods: This is confirmatory cross-sectional study with 189 workers from nine municipalities in Bahia, Brazil. The dependent variable was AA, measured by waist circumference. The independent variable was the BS, diagnosed by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Sociodemographic and job characteristics, lifestyle, and human biology were taken as covariates and were evaluated as modifiers or confounders by the homogeneity tests and by comparison with the adjusted Mantel-Haenszel test, respectively. Logistic regression was employed to evaluate the association between BS and AA, adjusted for covariates. The adequacy of the final regression model was evaluated by the model's goodness of fit test and the area under the ROC curve. Results: BS prevalence was 10.6% and AA 54%. The variables age, education, hypertension, diabetes, working time, and high emotional exhaustion were associated with AA. An association was found between BS and AA (1.63 adjusted prevalence ratios; 95% CI, 1.29 to 2.06) even after age and working time adjustment. Conclusion:The results suggest an association between BS and AA in the analyzed professionals. A significant prevalence of burnout and AA is highlighted.

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Burnout Syndrome among Primary Health Care Nursing Professionals: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The reality is based on actions focused on the disease, fragmented work, high demand from patients/family/community, often conflicting interpersonal relationships, low wages, situations of intense suffering, and emphasis on situations of violence that are common in Brazil. These demeaning conditions predict occupational stress and BS among nursing professionals [9,[38][39][40].…”

“…The data collection instrument was the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI) [19], adapted and validated to Brazilian Portuguese by Tamayo [20]. It consists of 22 questions to explore the three dimensions as follows: EE (1,2,3,6,8,13,14,16,20), DP (5,10,11,15,22) and RPR (4,7,9,12,17,18,19,21). The results are scored with a five-point likert scale: "1", never; "2", rarely; "3", sometimes; "4", often; and "5", always.…”

“…The three main dimensions of the syndrome are the following: Emotional Exhaustion (EE), Depersonalization (DP)-also known as feelings of cynicism and distancing from work-and Reduced Professional Achievement (RPR)-understood as a feeling of ineffectiveness [6,7]. BS impacts absenteeism, presenteeism, decreased productivity, an increased risk pf occupational accidents, alcohol and psychotropic abuse, time off work, and cardiometabolic diseases, among others [8][9][10].…”

Insufficiently studied factors related to burnout in nursing: Results from an e-Delphi study

“…In the United States, Aiken et al [25], on a sample of 10,000 nurses at hospitals in Pennsylvania concluded that 43% were emotionally exhausted. In Brazil, das Merces et al [26], on a sample of 189 Primary Health Care nursing practitioners, found that the prevalence of burnout syndrome was 10.6%. However, these results should be viewed with caution [27].…”

Síndrome de Burnout em residentes multiprofissionais em saúde

“…Neste contexto, verifica-se que 29,5% encontravam-se com excesso de peso, tendo seu IMC maior que 25 kg/m 2 . Apesar da pequena prevalência de adiposidade abdominal encontrada no estudo (5,3%), há na literatura estudos que apontam a plausibilidade biológica e uma associação entre o estresse e consequentemente o burnout com o aumento da adiposidade abdominal e ganho de peso 33 . Possivelmente existe uma relação entre o estresse e consequentemente a SB com o aumento de peso e adiposidade abdominal, levando a ingesta de alimentos calóricos e a estimulação do eixo Hipotálamo-Hipófise-Adrenal (HHA) e como consequência a produção de cortisol que se relaciona à obesidade visceral visando aumentar a quantidade de energia disponível para as situações de enfrentamento ao estresse [33][34][35] .…”