2025 · Kotenko et al. — Biochemical Markers of Stress in Medical Workers With Occupational Burnout Syndrome and Their Dynamics Under Physiotherapeutic Factors

In 175 healthcare professionals diagnosed with occupational burnout syndrome, various non-drug physiotherapy interventions — including hydrogen therapy — were tested in a randomised design. Hydrogen therapy alone improved burnout and oxidative stress markers by 12–38 % compared to exercise and psychocorrection alone; the greatest benefit came from combining all physiotherapy approaches together. (Voprosy Kurortologii, Fizioterapii i Lechebnoy Fizicheskoy Kultury, 2025.)

UNLABELLED: Professional burnout syndrome is becoming an increasingly important social and medical problem, as it can occur in almost every third doctor or nurse. This syndrome is based on chronic stress, which provokes the development of a close relationship between the indicators of various psychological tests and questionnaires, hormonal and biochemical markers of metabolic disorders of carbohydrates and lipids, as well as parameters characterizing oxidative stress. One of the promising directions in the treatment and prevention of occupational burnout syndrome is physiotherapy technologies with the combined use of factors with a fundamentally different mechanism of action, which, due to synergistic effects, can significantly increase the effectiveness of therapeutic effects. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the possibility of using non-drug technologies (physical exercises, psychocorrection, general air cryotherapy, general magnetic therapy, hypoxic-hyperoxytherapy, hydrogen therapy and their combined use) to activate stress-limiting mechanisms and manifestations of professional burnout in medical professionals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The research was conducted on the basis of the Scientific and Clinical Center 1 of the Russian National Research Center named after B.V. Petrovsky Academy with the participation of 175 patients from among the medical staff aged 30 to 60 years (25 of them without signs of professional burnout syndrome) and a group of somatic healthy non-medical workers. By the method of simple fixed randomization, patients with this syndrome were divided into 6 groups: control (n=25), comparison groups 1-4 (n=25 each) and main (n=25). Patients of all groups received a course of physical exercises and psychological correction. For the control group, this type of correction was exhaustive. In comparison group 1, an additional course of general air cryotherapy was performed; comparison group 2 additionally received a course of general magnetic therapy procedures; comparison group 3 additionally received a course of hypoxic-hyperoxytherapy; comparison group 4 additionally received a course of hydrogen therapy; in the main group, patients received a course of complex effects of therapeutic physical factors. The study design provided for a double examination of patients in all groups using the MBI questionnaire, the Spielberger-Hanin test and the Beck scale, as well as biochemical and hormonal stress markers. RESULTS: Individual signs of professional burnout syndrome may appear in medical professionals who have not yet verified this syndrome. At the same time, in its presence, the formation of pathological correlational pleiades is noted, integrating the relationship of the emotional and psychological parameters of this syndrome with indicators of oxidative stress and hormonal regulation of metabolic and energy homeostasis. The use of physiotherapeutic factors of various nature in patients with occupational burnout syndrome has made it possible to establish their effectiveness. Less pronounced changes were noted in the control group with the use of physical exercises and psychocorrection. Additional course application of therapeutic physiotherapeutic procedures in the monopharmaceutical mode (general air cryotherapy, general magnetic therapy, hypoxic-hyperoxytherapy and hydrogen therapy;) This was accompanied by an increase in the positive dynamics of the estimated indicators by 12-38%. The complex use of all physiotherapeutic effects, implemented in the main group, caused the development of the most pronounced corrective effect. CONCLUSION: The use of non-medicinal technologies makes it possible to achieve high efficiency in terms of activation of stress-limiting body systems and sanogenetic processes in medical workers with occupational burnout syndrome. The maximum corrective effect, manifested in the complex application of physiotherapeutic factors, is due to the realization of the additive supra-additive effect of the interaction of their therapeutic potentials.