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Below you will find a summary of “Symptoms, work situation and work function 10 years after rehabilitation of stress-related fatigue disorder”, published in the July 2024 issue of psychiatry by Eskilsson et al.

In Sweden, stress-related exhaustion disorder (SED) is the most common cause of long-term work disability, often involving a lengthy and difficult recovery process.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study examining burnout, depression, anxiety, and work-related outcomes in patients with SED 10 years after completing a multimodal rehabilitation program.

They included 107 patients (91 women and 16 men) who had been diagnosed with SED ten years before the study. After diagnosis, all participants completed a multimodal rehabilitation program. Data on burnout, anxiety and depression symptoms were collected before and after the multimodal rehabilitation program, with additional follow-up assessments at one and ten years. At the ten-year follow-up, the assessment focused on work situation, work function and fatigue symptoms, and 89 patients with sleep disorders were employed.

The result showed that symptoms of burnout, anxiety and depression remained unchanged over the one to ten year follow-up after rehabilitation. Of the patients still working, 73% had changed jobs and 31.5% had reduced their working hours. The main reasons for the adjustments were lack of energy or a shift in priorities. Work ability was rated as moderate, with about a third of participants reporting some degree of SED and a fifth suffering from moderate to severe insomnia.

The researchers concluded that many former SED patients still struggle with significant health problems ten years after rehabilitation and that some find it difficult to return to full-time work. This suggests the need for preventive and organizational measures for a more sustainable working life.

Source: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-024-05975-x