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- Jonsdottir, I. H., et al.
(författare)
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Working memory and attention are still impaired after three years inpatients with stress-related exhaustion
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. - : Wiley. - 0036-5564 .- 1467-9450. ; 58:6, s. 504-509
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cognitive impairment is one of the most pronounced symptoms reported by patients with stress-related mental health problems. Impairments related to executive function and to some extent speed and attention are therefore common in patients with stress-related burnout/exhaustion. In this paper we present a follow-up of cognitive performance in patients with stress-related exhaustion several years after they initially sought medical care. Thirty patients and 27 healthy controls, mean age 49 years (SD 6.5) and 55 years (SD 6.7) respectively, were included, all of whom had undergone baseline measurements of neuropsychological functioning. The mean follow-up time was three years. Half of the patients still reported mental health problems at follow-up and over time no major changes in cognitive performance were noted. The patients still performed significantly poorer than controls with regard to cognitive functions, mainly related to speed, attention and memory function. Long-lasting impairment of cognitive functions related to speed, attention and memory function noted in patients with stress-related exhaustion should be acknowledged and taken into consideration during treatment and when discussing a return to work. Follow-up periods longer than three years are needed to explore the persistence of the cognitive impairment. © 2017 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
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| 2. |
- Lennartsson, Anna-Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Burnout and hypocortisolism - a matter of severity? : A study on acth and cortisol responses to acute psychosocial stress
- 2015
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychiatry. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-0640. ; 6:FEB
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Common consequences of long-term psychosocial stress are fatigue and burnout. It has been suggested that burnout could be associated with hypocortisolism, thus, inability to produce sufficient amounts of cortisol. This study aimed to investigate whether patients with clinical burnout exhibit aberrant ACTH and cortisol responses under acute psychosocial stress compared with healthy individuals. Methods: Nineteen patients (9 men and 10 women) and 37 healthy subjects (20 men and 17 women), underwent the Trier Social Stress Test. Blood samples and saliva samples were collected before, after, and during the stress test for measurements of plasma ACTH, serum cortisol, and salivary cortisol. Several statistical analyses were conducted to compare the responses between patients and controls. In addition, in order to investigate the possibility that burnout patients with more severe symptoms would respond differently, sub-groups of patients reporting higher and lower burnout scores were compared. Results: In both patients and healthy controls, we observed elevated levels of ACTH and cortisol after exposure to the stressor. There were no differences in responses of ACTH, serum cortisol, or salivary cortisol between patients and controls. Patients reporting higher burnout scores had lower salivary cortisol responses than controls, indicating that patients with more severe burnout symptoms may be suffering from hypocortisolism. In addition, patients with more severe burnout symptoms tended to have smaller ACTH responses than the other patients. However, there was no corresponding difference in serum cortisol. Conclusion: This study indicates that hypocortisolism is not present in a clinical burnout patient group as a whole but may be present in the patients with more severe burnout symptoms. © 2015 Lennartsson, Sjörs, Währborg, Ljung and Jonsdottir.
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