Burnout is a syndrome characterized by emotional exhaustion, physical fatigue, and mental weariness as a consequence of chronic stress. Chronic stress is known to affect HPA-axis. Studies on HPA-axis functioning in burnout have produced inconsistent results. BDNF is one of the trophic factors involved in the regulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis and is believed to decrease as a consequence of chronic stress mediated by hyperactivation of the HPA-axis. The aetiological relationship between the serum level of BDNF and burnout has not yet been studied.

37 clinically diagnosed burnout participants were compared with 35 healthy controls. Basal serum cortisol, sBDNF, and cortisol level after 1mg dexamethasone suppression test were sampled.

We found no significant differences in terms of HPA-axis functioning, but we did find significantly lower levels of sBDNF compared between burnout participants and controls (p=0.005). sBDNF levels correlated significantly with scores of three dimensions of Maslach Burnout Inventory. HPA-axis function and sBDNF were not affected by the presence of a current psychiatric disorder. Depression, depersonalization and competence scores were found to be the most important predicting variables of burnout.

Our results suggest that there was no dysregulation in the HPA-axis of burnout participants. However, BDNF and hippocampal neurogenesis seem to be important in the aetiology of burnout. Though BDNF is a novel way to investigate the possible aetiology of burnout, further research concerning the role of BDNF in the neurobiology of burnout is needed.