Association of occupational burnout and occupational exposure factors on psychological health among factory workers and miners: a propensity score analysis

Our plain-English summary of Association of occupational burnout and occupational exposure factors on psychological health among factory workers and miners: a propensity score analysis, by Y. Lu, Z. Zhang, S. Gao, et al (International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2021).

The study

• Authors: Y. Lu, Z. Zhang, S. Gao, H. Yan, L. Zhang, J. Liu
• Journal: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Published: 2021;94(3):441-450
• Cited by: 4 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Purpose: This study is to explore the association of occupational burnout and occupational exposure factors on psychological health among factory workers and miners.

Methods: A total of 6130 factories workers and miners in Urumqi, China were included using a cluster sampling method. The occupational burnout and psychological health were investigates using the Chinese Maslach Burnout Inventory (CMBI) and the Symptom Check List-90 (SCL-90). The propensity score analysis (PSA) was used to eliminate the influence of individual characteristics, and 2164 pairs of participants on psychological healthy and unhealthy were matched. After PSA, the relationship between occupational burnout, occupational hazard exposure, and psychological health was evaluated.

Results: The results showed that asbestos dust (OR 1.65, CI 95% 1.35-2.02) and CMBI (OR 2.59, CI 95% 2.39-2.83) were risk factors affecting psychological health (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Measures need to be taken to ease occupational burnout among factories workers and miners, and strengthen personal protection to improve their psychological health.

In plain English

This cross-sectional survey, carried out from January to May 2019, studied factory workers and miners in Urumqi, China, who were exposed at work to coal dust, silica dust, asbestos dust, benzene, lead, noise or Brucella. Of 6120 workers analyzed, 935 (15.28%) were exposed to asbestos dust. Psychological health was measured with a symptom checklist (SCL-90), and 2342 workers screened positive for psychological health problems. Burnout was measured with a Chinese burnout questionnaire (CMBI). The authors matched 2164 workers who screened positive with 2164 who screened negative on personal characteristics such as age, sex and income. In this comparison, asbestos dust exposure was associated with screening positive (odds ratio 1.65, 95% confidence interval 1.35 to 2.02), as was burnout (odds ratio 2.59, 2.39 to 2.83). The results for coal dust, silica dust, benzene, lead, noise and Brucella were not statistically significant. The authors called for measures to ease burnout and to strengthen personal protection. They stated that a cross-sectional design cannot establish cause and effect.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: cross-sectional questionnaire survey analyzed with propensity score matching and multiple logistic regression
• Who was studied: Factory workers and miners in Urumqi, China, surveyed January to May 2019. 6130 were included, and 6120 questionnaires were analyzed (4017 men, 2103 women). After matching, 2164 pairs remained.
• Exposure: Self-reported or workplace-assigned occupational exposures: coal dust 1446 (23.63%), silica dust 622 (10.16%), asbestos dust 935 (15.28%), benzene 1947 (31.81%), lead 353 (5.77%), noise 4545 (74.26%) and Brucella 108 (1.76%). Occupational burnout was measured with the CMBI. No asbestos fiber type, product or dose is given.
• Main results:
  • Of the 6120 workers, 2342 (38.27%) screened positive on the SCL-90 for psychological health problems, and 3778 (61.73%) were normal.
  • Propensity score matching produced 2164 pairs of workers (SCL-90 positive vs negative) with similar characteristics.
  • After matching, working years still differed between the groups. The other matched characteristics did not differ significantly.
  • In the matched sample, asbestos dust exposure (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.35 to 2.02) and burnout score on the CMBI (OR 2.59, 95% CI 2.39 to 2.83) were reported as risk factors for a positive SCL-90 result (P less than 0.001).
  • Coal dust was not statistically significant: OR 1.07 (95% CI 0.92 to 1.26), P = 0.376.
  • Silica dust was not statistically significant: OR 1.09 (95% CI 0.88 to 1.38), P = 0.409.
  • Benzene was not statistically significant: OR 1.11 (95% CI 0.96 to 1.27), P = 0.174.
  • Lead was not statistically significant: OR 0.88 (95% CI 0.66 to 1.17), P = 0.369.
  • Noise was not statistically significant: OR 1.07 (95% CI 0.92 to 1.26), P = 0.349.
  • Brucella was not statistically significant: OR 1.48 (95% CI 0.89 to 2.44), P = 0.129.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that occupational burnout and asbestos dust exposure were related to psychological health. They stated that measures are needed to ease burnout among factory workers and miners and to strengthen personal protection.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Because the study was cross-sectional, the authors stated that the results cannot show causality and are exploratory only. Cohort studies would be needed to establish causes.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Occupational Exposure.

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