Cognitive Impairments in Emotional Burnout Syndrome

• Published in: Neuroscience and behavioral physiology 2023-11, Vol.53 (9), p.1491-1496
• Main Authors: Chutko, L. S., Yakovenko, E. A., Surushkina, S. Yu, Rem, A. V., Anisimova, T. I., Ponomarev, V. A., Kropotov, Yu.D., Sergeev, A. V., Cherednichenko, D. V., Didur, M. D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Asthenia; Auditory evoked potentials; Behavioral Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Burnout; Clinical Presentation and Treatment of Nervous and Mental Diseases; Cognitive ability; Emotions; Long term memory; Memory; Neurobiology; Neurosciences; Questionnaires; Statistical analysis
• ISSN: 0097-0549; 1573-899X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11055-023-01543-0

Objectives . To study the characteristics of cognitive dysfunction in patients at various stages of emotional burnout syndrome (EBS). Materials and methods . A total of 78 patients aged 25–45 (mean 36.9 ± 9.5) years took part in the study and were divided into Resistance (51.3%, n = 40) and Exhaustion (48.7%, n = 38) subgroups depending on the stage of EBS. The control group consisted of 106 essentially healthy individuals (mean age 36.3 ± 7.2 years). The following methods were used: the Russian version of the MBI questionnaire, the Boiko questionnaire for diagnosis of the level of emotional burnout, the CFQ questionnaire, the Luria 10 words recall method, and recording of cognitive evoked potentials (EP) on performance of the VCPT psychophysiological visual test. Results . Subjective complaints of memory loss were made by 47 patients with EBS (60.3% of all EBS patients) – 17 (42.5%) from the Resistance subgroup and 30 (78.9%) from the Exhaustion subgroup. Quantitative assessment of subjective complaints using the CFQ test revealed a significant increase in this indicator in all patients in the study group ( p < 0.05), especially the Exhaustion subgroup. Comparison of EP amplitude in the Resistance subgroup and the control group revealed statistically significant decreases in the amplitude of the P200 component in leads Cz ( p < 0.001) and Fz ( p < 0.001), along with significant decreases in P300 amplitude in these leads (Cz ( p < 0.001) and Pz ( p < 0.001)) in patients in the Resistance subgroup. Most patients with EBS reported cognitive complaints, which were more common at the Exhaustion stage. Objective cognitive impairment was recorded only in patients in the Exhaustion group. Only long-term memory impairments were noted. The psychophysiological study demonstrated a decrease in the level of attention in both subgroups, indicating increased depletion of mental processes. Conclusions . Impairment of cognitive functions in patients with EBS is apparent as various forms of impaired attention and memory, along with decreased productivity in the resistance and exhaustion phases, and may be a consequence of high levels of asthenia.