Abstract
BackgroundPsychological stress is suggested to accelerate the rate of biological aging. We investigated whether work-related exhaustion, an indicator of prolonged work stress, is associated with accelerated biological aging, as indicated by shorter leukocyte telomeres, that is, the DNA-protein complexes that cap chromosomal ends in cells.MethodsWe used data from a representative sample of the Finnish working-age population, the Health 2000 Study. Our sample consisted of 2911 men and women aged 30–64. Work-related exhaustion was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey. We determined relative leukocyte telomere length using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) -based method.ResultsAfter adjustment for age and sex, individuals with severe exhaustion had leukocyte telomeres on average 0.043 relative units shorter (standard error of the mean 0.016) than those with no exhaustion (p = 0.009). The association between exhaustion and relative telomere length remained significant after additional adjustment for marital and socioeconomic status, smoking, body mass index, and morbidities (adjusted difference 0.044 relative units, standard error of the mean 0.017, p = 0.008).ConclusionsThese data suggest that work-related exhaustion is related to the acceleration of the rate of biological aging. This hypothesis awaits confirmation in a prospective study measuring changes in relative telomere length over time.
Highlights
Work-related stress occurs when the demands of the work environment exceed the worker’s ability to cope with or control them [1]
Within each of the five districts, 65 other areas were sampled applying the probability proportional to population size (PPS) method. From each of these 80 areas, a random sample of individuals was drawn from the National Population Register so that the total number of people drawn from each stratum was proportional to the population size of the area in question [18]
Mild work-related exhaustion was experienced by 18% and severe work-related exhaustion by 5%
Summary
Work-related stress occurs when the demands of the work environment exceed the worker’s ability to cope with or control them [1]. In Europe, its prevalence is around 20% and the annual cost of work-related stress is estimated to be 20 billion euro in the 15 original European Union Member States [2]. Work-related exhaustion is a psychological consequence of prolonged work stress [8]. It coexists at high rates with mental and physical illnesses [9,10]. Psychological stress is suggested to accelerate the rate of biological aging. We investigated whether workrelated exhaustion, an indicator of prolonged work stress, is associated with accelerated biological aging, as indicated by shorter leukocyte telomeres, that is, the DNA-protein complexes that cap chromosomal ends in cells
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