The influence of burnout on cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Burnout is a public health problem with various health consequences, among which cardiovascular disease is the most investigated but still under debate. Our objective was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on the influence of burnout on cardiovascular disease.

Methods: Studies reporting risk (odds ratio, relative risk, and hazard ratio) of cardiovascular disease following burnout were searched in PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane, Embase, and ScienceDirect. We performed a random-effect meta-analysis stratified by type of cardiovascular disease and searched for putative influencing variables. We performed sensitivity analyses using the most adjusted models and crude risks.

Results: We included 25 studies in the systematic review and 9 studies in the meta-analysis (4 cross-sectional, 4 cohort, and 1 case-control study) for a total of 26,916 participants. Burnout increased the risk of cardiovascular disease by 21% (OR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.39) using the most adjusted risks and by 27% (OR = 1.27, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.43) using crude risks. Using stratification by type of cardiovascular disease and the most adjusted risks, having experienced burnout significantly increased the risk of prehypertension by 85% (OR = 1.85, 95% CI 1.00 to 2.70) and cardiovascular disease-related hospitalization by 10% (OR = 1.10, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.18), whereas the risk increase for coronary heart disease (OR = 1.79, 95% CI 0.79 to 2.79) and myocardial infarction (OR = 1.78, 95% CI 0.85 to 2.71) was not significant. Results were also similar using crude odds ratio. The risk of cardiovascular disease after a burnout was not influenced by gender. Insufficient data precluded other meta-regressions.

Conclusions: Burnout seems to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, despite the few retrieved studies and a causality weakened by cross-sectional studies. However, numerous studies focused on the pathophysiology of cardiovascular risk linked to burnout, which may help to build a preventive strategy in the workplace.

Keywords: burnout; cardiovascular disease; mental health; methodology; statistics.