Chronic Exposure to High Altitude and Job Burnout Among Chinese Military Personnel at Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: The Mediating Effect of Fatigue and Moderating Effect of Deployment Duration

Abstract

Background: Job burnout among military personnel is associated with many negative consequence including depression, various forms of job withdrawal, and poor job performance. The present study aimed to investigate how chronic exposure to HA, fatigue, and deployment duration may influence burnout among Chinese military personnel. Methods: Military plateau drivers at Golmud (average altitude: 2,890m) as high altitude group (N = 194) and military drivers at Fuzhou (average altitude: 84m) as low altitude group (N = 190) completed the self-administrated questionnaires. Path analysis with ordinary least squares regression procedures were used to test the mediating effect of fatigue and moderating effect of deployment duration.Results: A simple mediation from altitude to burnout through fatigue was supported by the results. Military personnel at high altitude experienced severer fatigue than those at low altitude (B = 1.215, t = 4.303, p < 0.001), and fatigue in turn caused greater job burnout (B = 0.347, t = 6.132, p < 0.001). The mediating effect of fatigue was significant (M = 0.421, Boot LLCI = 0.207, Boot ULCI = 0.668) and explained 15.21% of the total effect of altitude on burnout. However, the moderating effects of deployment duration were not supported in the present study. Conclusion: The problem of job burnout among military personnel on the plateau may be diminished by relieving their mental and physical fatigue induced by chronic exposure to high altitude and increasing the number of vacation days away from plateau.