The Status of Occupational Burnout and Its Influence on the Psychological Health of Factory Workers and Miners in Wulumuqi, China

Our plain-English summary of The Status of Occupational Burnout and Its Influence on the Psychological Health of Factory Workers and Miners in Wulumuqi, China, by Y. Lu, Z. Zhang, S. Gao, et al (BioMed Research International, 2020).

The study

• Authors: Y. Lu, Z. Zhang, S. Gao, H. Yan, L. Zhang, J. Liu
• Journal: BioMed Research International
• Published: 2020;2020:6890186
• Cited by: 13 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of occupational burnout and its influence on the psychological health of factory workers and miners, in order to provide theoretical basis and reference for alleviating occupational burnout and promoting psychological health. The cross-sectional study investigated 6130 factory workers and miners with online questionnaire; the Chinese Maslach Burnout Inventory (CMBI) and Symptom Check List-90 (SCL-90) were used. In total, 6120 valid questionnaires were collected; effectiveness was 99.8%. The percentage of the factory workers and miners suffering from occupational burnout was 85.98% and psychological health problems was 38.27%. A statistically significant difference was observed in relation to the prevalence of occupational burnout among factory workers and miners of different sex, education level, labor contracts, work schedule, monthly incomes, weight, hypertension, age, working years, working hours per day, working hours per week, coal dust, silica dust, asbestos dust, benzene, lead, and noise. The detection rate of psychological health was higher for males than females. The detection rate of psychological health was higher for working days per week less than 5 days than more than 5 days. The detection rate of psychological health with high school education, senior professional title, night shift, divorced, monthly income less than 3000 yuan, weight more than 75 kg, age more than 45 years, and working years between 25 and 30 years was higher than that of the other groups. The results showed that sex, education level, professional title, work schedule, monthly income, hypertension, age, working years, asbestos dust, benzene, and occupational burnout affected psychological health among factory workers and miners. Factory workers and miners had high levels of occupational burnout, and occupational burnout was a risk factor that can lead to psychological health.

Copyright © 2020 Yaoqin Lu et al.

In plain English

This cross-sectional survey studied factory workers and miners in Urumqi (Wulumuqi), China, from January to May 2019. Of 6130 eligible workers exposed to coal dust, silica dust, asbestos dust, benzene, lead, noise or Brucella, 6120 completed valid online questionnaires. Of these, 935 (15.28%) were exposed to asbestos dust. Burnout was measured with the Chinese Maslach Burnout Inventory and psychological symptoms with the Symptom Check List-90. Overall, 85.98% showed some level of burnout and 38.27% screened positive for psychological health problems. Among asbestos-dust-exposed workers, 508 of 935 (54.33%) screened positive, compared with 1834 (35.37%) of those not exposed. In a multiple logistic regression, asbestos dust exposure was associated with poorer psychological health (odds ratio 1.48, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.77). Benzene, shift work, higher education, longer working years and burnout were also associated with poorer psychological health. Severe burnout had an odds ratio of 25.53 (18.80 to 34.63) compared with no burnout. The article did not name the asbestos fiber type. The authors concluded that burnout influenced psychological health. They noted that a cross-sectional design cannot establish cause.

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 study using an online questionnaire completed by mobile phone
• Who was studied: Factory workers and miners in Urumqi (Wulumuqi), China, surveyed January to May 2019. Workers were selected by cluster sampling: 6500 initially, 6130 after inclusion and exclusion criteria. 6120 valid questionnaires were collected.
• Exposure: Occupational exposure to coal dust, silica dust, asbestos dust, benzene, lead, noise, or Brucella, classified by working environment. 935 workers (15.28%) were exposed to asbestos dust. No asbestos fiber type or dose measurements were reported.
• Main results:
  • Among all 6120 workers, 85.98% had some level of occupational burnout, and 38.27% screened positive for psychological health problems on the SCL-90.
  • Burnout levels differed significantly between asbestos-dust-exposed and unexposed workers (chi-squared 74.537, P less than 0.001). The table prints burnout detection rates of 0.91 for exposed and 0.85 for unexposed workers.
  • In unadjusted comparison, 508 of 935 asbestos-dust-exposed workers (54.33%) screened positive for psychological health problems. Among unexposed workers, 1834 (35.37%) screened positive (chi-squared 119.75, P less than 0.001).
  • In multiple logistic regression, asbestos dust exposure was associated with poorer psychological health (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.77). Benzene was also associated (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.34).
  • Compared with no burnout, the odds of psychological health problems were 1.43 times higher for mild, 3.82 times for moderate, and 25.53 times for severe burnout (severe: 95% CI 18.80 to 34.63).
  • Compared with junior high school education and below, the odds of psychological health problems were 1.80 times higher for junior college and 2.03 times higher for bachelor's degree or above.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the factory workers and miners generally suffered from occupational burnout and that occupational burnout influenced psychological health. They said measures are needed to ease burnout in order to improve psychological health. They listed sex, education level, professional title, work schedule, monthly income, hypertension, age, working years, asbestos dust, and benzene as related risk factors.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • A cross-sectional survey cannot establish a causal relationship.
  • The online questionnaire still produced repeated answers.

Related studies

• Association of occupational burnout and occupational exposure factors on psychological health among factory workers and miners: a propensity score analysis — Y. Lu, Z. Zhang, et al. (2021)
• Effects of Occupational Hazards on Job Stress and Mental Health of Factory Workers and Miners: A Propensity Score Analysis — Y. Lu, Z. Zhang, et al. (2020)
• Development and validation of a nomogram for predicting the risk of mental health problems of factory workers and miners — Y. Lu, Q. Liu, et al. (2022)
• Chrysotile asbestos and health in Zimbabwe: II. Health status survey of active miners and millers — M.R. Cullen, L. Lopez-Carrillo, et al. (1991)
• The mental health of asbestos-exposed subjects with pleural abnormalities — P. Franklin, M. Robinson, et al. (2015)
• Effects of commodity on the risk of emphysema in South African miners — S.L. Mabila, K.S. Almberg, et al. (2020)

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