Personal and work-related burnout is associated with increased episodes of suicidal ideation or behavior among working adults in Chile

Burnout has been previously associated with suicidal risk factors and suicide itself, but these associations have only focused on work-related burnout among high-demand occupations. We aimed at examining the extent to which personal and/or work-related burnout are associated with suicidal ideation or behavior among working adults in Chile. We conducted a cross-sectional study among 1,970 working adults attending the Hospital del Trabajador in Santiago, Chile, between September 2015 and February 2018, using structured interviews. The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) assessed levels of personal and work-related burnout (mild, moderate, and high-to-severe), and the Columbia Suicidal Rating Scale (C-SSRS) measured suicidal ideation or behavior. Multivariable logistic regression models were fit to estimate the magnitude of the association between burnout with suicidal ideation or behavior. After adjusting for putative confounders, moderate and high-to-severe personal burnout were associated with 5.07-fold (95% confidence interval (Al-Halabí et al.): 3.56-7.26) and 10.26-fold (95% CI: 5.75-18.50) increased odds of suicidal ideation or behavior, and high-to-severe work-related burnout associated with 2.47-fold increased odds (95% CI: 1.31-4.68). The dose-response pattern was shown in the association between both types of burnout and suicidal ideation or behavior (p for trend <0.05). Personal and work-related burnout were associated with increased odds of suicidal ideation or behavior in a dose-response manner. Focusing on alleviating burnout levels through mental health services or social support may effectively decrease the prevalence of suicidal ideation or behavior among working adults.