TY - JOUR
T1 - Burnout and risk of regional musculoskeletal pain - A prospective study of apparently healthy employed adults
AU - Melamed, Samuel
PY - 2009/10
Y1 - 2009/10
N2 - Musculoskeletal pain (MP) is highly prevalent in the working population, often resulting in chronic disability. Work stress has been shown to be important in the aetiology of MP. Burnout is a unique affective response to chronic exposure to stress and might predict subsequent development of MP. To date, however, all studies in this area have been based on a cross-sectional design, which prevents determining the direction of causality. This prospective study tested the extent to which baseline levels of burnout predict the onset of regional neck/shoulder and/or low back pain, in apparently healthy individuals. The participants were composed of 650 employed men and women who underwent follow-up for 3-5 years. During the follow-up period, 116 workers (17.8%) developed musculoskeletal pain. Logistic regression results indicated that burnout symptoms were associated with a 1.67-fold increased risk of MP [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.14-1.87], even after adjusting for possible confounding variables (such as white- or blue-collar jobs). Those exhibiting high burnout levels, compared with others, showed higher relative risk of MP [odds ratio (OR) = 2.45, 95%CI = 1.35-4.45]. It was concluded that burnout might be a risk factor for the development of musculoskeletal pain in apparently healthy individuals.
AB - Musculoskeletal pain (MP) is highly prevalent in the working population, often resulting in chronic disability. Work stress has been shown to be important in the aetiology of MP. Burnout is a unique affective response to chronic exposure to stress and might predict subsequent development of MP. To date, however, all studies in this area have been based on a cross-sectional design, which prevents determining the direction of causality. This prospective study tested the extent to which baseline levels of burnout predict the onset of regional neck/shoulder and/or low back pain, in apparently healthy individuals. The participants were composed of 650 employed men and women who underwent follow-up for 3-5 years. During the follow-up period, 116 workers (17.8%) developed musculoskeletal pain. Logistic regression results indicated that burnout symptoms were associated with a 1.67-fold increased risk of MP [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.14-1.87], even after adjusting for possible confounding variables (such as white- or blue-collar jobs). Those exhibiting high burnout levels, compared with others, showed higher relative risk of MP [odds ratio (OR) = 2.45, 95%CI = 1.35-4.45]. It was concluded that burnout might be a risk factor for the development of musculoskeletal pain in apparently healthy individuals.
KW - Burnout
KW - Musculoskeletal pain
KW - Psychosocial factors
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=70449514317&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/smi.1265
DO - 10.1002/smi.1265
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AN - SCOPUS:70449514317
SN - 1532-3005
VL - 25
SP - 313
EP - 321
JO - Stress and Health
JF - Stress and Health
IS - 4
ER -