Health SciTech
By
Jeanna
Bryner
LiveScience Staff Writer
The
daily rigors of work, such as tight deadlines
and long hours, can lead to job burnout,
a state scientists are beginning to link
with serious ailments.
Studies have shown that workplace stress
can lead to an increase in rates of heart
disease, flu
virus, metabolic syndrome and
high blood pressure. One study found that
stress can negate the heart-healthy aspects
of a physically active job, leading to
thicker arteries in physically active
and stressed workers compared with active,
non-stressed employees.
A new study of 677 workers in Israel showed
those who experienced job burnout were
1.8 times more likely to develop Type
2 diabetes, in which a person's
body becomes resistant to the sugar-regulating
hormone called insulin. The results held
even when factors like age, sex, exercise
and obesity
were taken into account.
Some studies have found stress can cause
unhealthy behaviors, such as eating
poorly or drinking more
alcohol, which can then lead
to health problems. In the new study,
the researchers suggest stress can have
a more direct effect, disrupting the body's
ability to process glucose, leading to
diabetes.
The
results show that burnout could boost
the risk of illness
by a "magnitude similar to other
risk factors, such as high body mass index,
smoking and lack of physical
exercise," said study
lead author Samuel Melamed of Tel Aviv
University in Israel.
Job burnout
When work stress becomes unmanageable,
job burnout can lead to a combination
of three symptoms:
* Emotional exhaustion
* Physical fatigue or exhaustion
* Cognitive weariness (slow thinking)
This state differs from a temporary malaise
that passes after a period of rest. Causes
of burnout include chronic stresses,
such as lack of rewards, job insecurity,
regular physical
abuse and sexual harassment,
as well as daily hassles and sudden traumas.
Work life
The scientists studied Israeli workers,
who were apparently healthy initially,
from 1998 to 2003. Nearly 77 percent of
the workers were men, with an average
age of 43 years. The subjects had a range
of occupations, which the scientists divided
into five categories: senior management,
middle management or supervisory-jobs
like engineers, teachers and computer
workers- nonprofessional and self-employed
persons.
A burnout questionnaire revealed about
half of the 677 subjects experienced high
burnout. Of the workers, 17 developed
Type 2 diabetes during the study period,
with 3.2 percent of burned-out workers
becoming diabetic compared with 1.8 percent
of the other workers.
To figure out if the cause of diabetes
was mediated by blood pressure, the researchers
examined a subset of the subjects-507
workers-for which they had tested for
blood pressure. The burned-out workers
showed lower blood pressure levels, indicating
that it was not hypertension-high blood
pressure-causing diabetes. An alternative
explanation could be that stress triggers
a spike in fatty acids in the blood and
a drop in the "good" cholesterol,
HDL-both
factors associated with diabetes.
Stress factor
The job burnout may be only part of the
picture, Melamed said.
"It is possible that these people
are prone to diabetes because they can't
handle stress very well,"
he said. "Their coping resources
may have been depleted not only due to
job stress but also life stresses, such
as stressful life events and daily hassles."
Stress in general can disrupt the body's
ability to process glucose, especially
in people whose genetics
make them vulnerable, said Richard Surwit
of the Duke University Medical Center.
Surwit, who was not involved in the study,
said the results should be replicated
in a much larger group of subjects to
see if the same results prevail.
The scientists suggest, in the November/December
issue of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine,
that the results confirm the need for
effective interventions to reduce stress
before it becomes burnout.
Signs
of Stress |
Ask
yourself these questions to see if
you're experiencing symptoms of burnout:
* Do you find yourself being more
cynical, critical and sarcastic at
work?
* Have you lost the ability to experience
joy?
* Do you drag yourself into work and
have trouble getting started once
you arrive?
* Have you become more irritable and
less patient with co-workers, customers
or clients?
* Do you feel that you face insurmountable
barriers at work?
* Do you feel that you lack the energy
to be consistently productive?
* Do you no longer feel satisfaction
from your achievements?
* Do you have a hard time laughing
at yourself?
* Are you tired of your co-workers
asking if you're OK?
* Do you feel disillusioned about
your job?
* Are you self-medicating-using food,
drugs or alcohol-to feel better or
to simply not feel?
* Have your sleep habits or appetite
changed?
* Are you troubled by headaches, neck
pain or lower back pain?
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