Study demonstrates the effects of job burnout on the heart

• According to a new study from the Journal of Occupational and Health Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association (APA), women who experience job burnout and men who experience depression were found to have increased levels of two inflammation biomarkers -- fibrinogen and C-reactive protein (CRP).
• Both of these biomarkers have been associated in numerous studies, with an increased risk of future cardiovascular disease and stroke, over and above the conventional risk factors like blood lipids and glucose.
• In the first large-scale study showing a physiological difference in how men and women react to emotional states, researcher Sharon Toker, Ph.D., candidate of Tel Aviv University and co-authors examined micro-inflammation blood markers and levels of burnout, depression and anxiety in 630 healthy, employed women and 933 healthy, employed men to determine which emotions are more likely to present more problems for each sex.
• Blood levels of CRP and fibrinogen concentrations were used to measure levels of micro-inflammation.
• Fibrinogen is a blood-clotting factor that responds to vascular and tissue injury and CRP is a complex set of proteins produced when the body is dealing with a major infection or trauma.
• Anxiety is defined as a person experiencing negatively-toned arousal.
• All these linkages were obtained after taking into account a host of physiological factors well known to be associated with CRP and fibrinogen levels.
• Even though burnout and depression affect men and women differently, the health consequences end up being the same, said Dr. Toker, who suggests that gender difference be included when comparing certain emotions and health risks.
• "The findings also confirm that emotional states do indeed affect a person's risk for developing cardiovascular disease," said Toker.
• "This information can be used to help medical and mental health professionals design more appropriate stress management interventions for each sex and hopefully prevent long-lasting health consequences."