Burned out more likely get medication

HELSINKI, Finland, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- A study of Finnish workers found those with burnout were more likely to receive medication -- especially antidepressants -- for mental health problems.

Kirsti Aila of the Finnish Institute for Occupational Health, in Helsinki, analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of 3,276 Finnish employees. The study, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found 25 percent of the workers had mild symptoms of burnout, while another 2.4 percent had severe burnout.

The presence of burnout -- defined for the study as exhaustion accompanied by feelings of incompetence or that one's work isn't valuable -- was assessed by questionnaire.

"The high antidepressant prescription rates raise the possibility that, in some cases, the symptoms of burnout have been misinterpreted as a mental disorder requiring medications and have therefore been treated with antidepressants or other psychotropics," the researchers said in a statement. "Especially when they have no contact with the patient's workplace, doctors may feel medications are the only help they can offer."