Contribution of burnout to the association between job strain and depression: the health 2000 study.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to investigate the contribution of burnout to the association between job strain and depression.


METHODS
A representative sample of 3270 Finnish employees aged 30 to 64 years responded to the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey and the Beck Depression Inventory and participated in the Composite International Diagnostic Interview.


RESULTS
High strain compared with low strain was associated with 7.4 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.6-9.7) times higher odds of burnout, 3.8 (95% CI = 2.8-5.1) times higher odds of depressive symptoms, and 1.7 (95% CI = 1.1-2.6) times higher odds of depressive disorders. The risk for depressive symptoms and for depressive disorders of high strain was reduced by 69% or more after adjusting for burnout.


CONCLUSIONS
Burnout is strongly related to job strain and may in part mediate the association between job strain and depression.
Ahola
Kirsi
K
Centre of Expertise for Work Organizations, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland. kirsi.ahola@ttl.fi
Honkonen
Teija
T
Kivimäki
Mika
M
Virtanen
Marianna
M
Isometsä
Erkki
E
Aromaa
Arpo
A
Lönnqvist
Jouko
J
D000328:Adult; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data