Blood Metabolic Biomarkers of Occupational Stress in Healthcare Professionals: Discriminating Burnout Levels and the Impact of Night Shift Work

TL;DR

This study identifies blood metabolic biomarkers linked to occupational stress and burnout in healthcare workers, particularly those working night shifts.

Contribution

The study provides novel metabolic profiles associated with burnout levels and the impact of night shift work in healthcare professionals.

Findings

Four key metabolic pathways were found to be affected by burnout and night shift work.

Metabolic biomarkers included lipid metabolism, mitochondrial energy metabolism, and amino acid metabolism.

The findings suggest potential strategies for managing burnout in healthcare professionals.

Abstract

Burnout syndrome is characterized mainly by three criteria (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment), and further exacerbated by night shift work, with profound implications for individual and societal well-being. The Maslach Burnout Inventory survey applied to 97 medical care professionals (with day and night work) revealed different scores for these criteria. Blood metabolic profiles were obtained by UHPLC-QTOF-ESI+-MS untargeted metabolomics and multivariate statistics using the Metaboanalyst 6.0 platform. The Partial Least Squares Discrimination scores and VIP values, Random Forest graphs, and Heatmaps, based on 99 identified metabolites, were complemented with Biomarker Analysis (AUC ranking) and Pathway Analysis of metabolic networks. The data obtained reflected the biochemical implications of night shift work and correlated with each criterion’s burnout scores. Four main metabolic pathways with important consequences in burnout were affected, namely lipid metabolism, especially steroid hormone synthesis and cortisol, the energetic mitochondrial metabolism involving acylated carnitines, fatty acids, and phospholipids as well polar metabolites’ metabolism, e.g., catecholamines (noradrenaline, acetyl serotonin), and some amino acids (tryptophan, tyrosine, aspartate, arginine, valine, lysine). These metabolic profiles suggest potential strategies for managing burnout levels in healthcare professionals, based on validated criteria, including night shift work management.

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