AUTHOR=Alameri Fayeza , Aldaheri Noura , Almesmari Sarah , Basaloum Manea , Albeshr Nouf Albdulrahman , Simsekler Mecit Can Emre , Ugwuoke Nnamdi Valbosco , Dalkilinc Murat , Al Qubaisi Mai , Campos Luciana Aparecida , Almahmeed Wael , Alefishat Eman , Al Tunaiji Hashel , Baltatu Ovidiu Constantin 

TITLE=Burnout and Cardiovascular Risk in Healthcare Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.867233

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.867233

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=Introduction: The objective of this study was to investigate the psychosocial and cardiovascular markers in healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: This was a STROBE compliant, blended exploratory study. Residents, staff physicians, nurses, and auxiliary healthcare professionals from both inpatient and outpatient medicine services were recruited using a planned random probability sample. The Maslach Burnout Inventory, Fuster-BEWAT score (FBS), and socio-demographic factors, as well as sleep quality, were studied. The correlations between burnout severity and cardiovascular risk were examined using multivariable linear regression models adjusted for confounding variables, such as sociodemographic and anthropometric characteristics.
Results: The regression analysis with FBS as the outcome showed a negative association between cardiovascular health and emotional exhaustion [Coef.(95%CI): -0.029(-0.048, -0.01), p = 0.002]. The higher the emotional exhaustion the lower the cardiovascular health. Further, the model showed a positive association between personal accomplishment and cardiovascular health [Coef.(95%CI): 0.045(0.0007, 0.082), p = 0.02]. Emotional exhaustion was significantly positive correlated with REM sleep and light average (Spearman's rank correlation: 0.37 and 0.35, respectively, with P < 0.05).
Discussion: This study suggests that healthcare practitioners with a lower composite cardiovascular health score may be at greater cardiovascular risk due to the concomitant emotional exhaustion. As an adaptive response to stressful situations, REM sleep increases. The findings of this study may be relevant in creating preventive strategies for burnout and cardiovascular risk reduction or prevention.