Trends in burnout and related sick leave duration in working-age adults followed in general practices in Germany between 2012 and 2022

Abstract

Aims: This study investigated burnout trends and related sick leave duration in working-age adults followed in general practices in Germany.

Methods: Participants were aged 20-65 years and were diagnosed with burnout in one of 442 general practices in this country in 2012-2014, 2016-2018, and 2020-2022. The prevalence of burnout and the duration of sick leave in all practices were compared between 2012-2014 and 2016-2018 and between 2016-2018 and 2020-2022. The association between diagnosis years (i.e., 2012-2014, 2016-2018, and 2020-2022) and long-term sick leave (i.e., more than 42 days of sick leave) was investigated using adjusted logistic regression.

Results: The study included 39,793, 46,708, and 50,721 patients diagnosed with burnout in the periods from 2012 to 2014, 2016-2018, and 2020-2022, respectively, and the prevalence of burnout in all patients was 3.6%, 3.8%, and 3.6% during these three periods. This prevalence increased significantly in people aged 61-65 years and those with a Charlson Comorbidity Index of ≥1. The mean (SD) sick leave duration in the population of people with burnout rose from 24.1 (41.9) days in the period of 2012-2014 to 36.2 (65.6) days in the period from 2020 to 2022. Finally, compared with 2012-2014, burnout diagnosed in 2016-2018 and 2020-2022 was associated with higher odds of long-term sick leave.

Conclusions: In view of these findings, it is clear that public health measures are urgently needed to improve burnout prevention in Germany.

Keywords: Burnout; General practices; Germany; Primary care; Sick leave; Trends.