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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1493424
This article is part of the Research Topic Burnout, Wellbeing and Resilience of Healthcare Workers in the Post-COVID World View all 10 articles

Unraveling the Interconnectedness between Physician Burnout and Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress: A Network Analysis among Chinese Psychiatrists

Provisionally accepted
Song Wang Song Wang 1,2Mengyue Gu Mengyue Gu 1,2Shujing Zhang Shujing Zhang 3Jingyang Gu Jingyang Gu 1,2Yudong Shi Yudong Shi 1,2Yang Yating Yang Yating 1,2Ling Zhang Ling Zhang 1,2Mengdie Li Mengdie Li 1,2Lei Xia Lei Xia 1,2Feng Jiang Feng Jiang 4,5,6,7Huanzhong Liu Huanzhong Liu 1,2*Yi-lang Tang Yi-lang Tang 3,8
  • 1 Department of Psychiatry, Chaohu Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
  • 2 Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
  • 3 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
  • 4 Institute of Health Yangtze River Delta, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
  • 5 Institute of Health Policy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
  • 6 Institute of Grand Health, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
  • 7 School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
  • 8 Atlanta VA Medical Center, Decatur, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased the levels of burnout and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress among healthcare professionals. However, research on the interrelations between burnout and psychological symptoms is scarce, particularly among psychiatrists. This study addresses this gap in a national sample.Method: Data was collected via an online survey conducted in Mainland China from January to March 2021 with a sample size of 3783 participants. Psychological symptoms were assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and physician burnout was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Service Survey (MBIHSS). Network analysis was used to examine the interconnection between physician burnout and psychological symptoms, with further analysis conducted on multiple levels, including individual symptoms in central positions or acting as bridges between clusters, and identifying core symptom combinations with significant correlations.Results: Stress emerged as the highest Expected Influence (EI) index, with emotional exhaustion in the burnout cluster being the singular bridge symptom. Furthermore, depressive symptoms such as hopelessness and anhedonia showed a strong and the most straightforward association with emotional exhaustion, while stress-related overreaction was closely associated with depersonalization.Conclusion: Network analysis between burnout and psychological symptoms identified critical symptoms like stress and emotional exhaustion in Chinese psychiatrists. Close monitoring of these symptoms may be crucial for mitigating the risk of common psychological disturbances and preventing their exacerbation in this population.

    Keywords: Physician burnout, stress, Depression, Anxiety, Psychiatrists, Network analysis

    Received: 09 Sep 2024; Accepted: 16 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, Gu, Zhang, Gu, Shi, Yating, Zhang, Li, Xia, Jiang, Liu and Tang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Huanzhong Liu, Department of Psychiatry, Chaohu Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China

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