Work-related exhaustion and telomere length: a population-based study.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional population-based observational study
PubMed 22808115 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0040186
What was done
The authors evaluated the cross-sectional association between work-related exhaustion and relative leukocyte telomere length in 2,911 Finnish men and women aged 30 to 64 from the representative Health 2000 Study. Work-related exhaustion was assessed via the Maslach Burnout Inventory–General Survey, and relative leukocyte telomere length was measured using quantitative real-time PCR.
What was found
After adjustment for age and sex, individuals with severe exhaustion had leukocyte telomeres on average 0.043 relative units shorter (standard error of the mean 0.016, p = 0.009) than those with no exhaustion. After further adjustment for marital and socioeconomic status, smoking, body mass index, and morbidities, the difference remained statistically significant (adjusted difference 0.044 relative units, standard error of the mean 0.017, p = 0.008).
Why it matters
This study links chronic occupational burnout to objective cellular markers of accelerated biological aging in a large population sample.
Limits
The study is cross-sectional, preventing causal determination or longitudinal measurement of telomere shortening rates. The cohort was limited to Finnish working-age adults, and residual confounding cannot be excluded.
Cited by
- supports Ordinary work stress is not associated with telomere shortening, whereas clinical burnout is.