TY - JOUR
T1 - Stress, burnout and depression
T2 - A systematic review on DNA methylation mechanisms
AU - Bakusic, Jelena
AU - Schaufeli, Wilmar
AU - Claes, Stephan
AU - Godderis, Lode
PY - 2017/1/1
Y1 - 2017/1/1
N2 - Despite that burnout presents a serious burden for modern society, there are no diagnostic criteria. Additional difficulty is the differential diagnosis with depression. Consequently, there is a need to dispose of a burnout biomarker. Epigenetic studies suggest that DNA methylation is a possible mediator linking individual response to stress and psychopathology and could be considered as a potential biomarker of stress-related mental disorders. Thus, the aim of this review is to provide an overview of DNA methylation mechanisms in stress, burnout and depression. In addition to state-of-the-art overview, the goal of this review is to provide a scientific base for burnout biomarker research. We performed a systematic literature search and identified 25 pertinent articles. Among these, 15 focused on depression, 7 on chronic stress and only 3 on work stress/burnout. Three epigenome-wide studies were identified and the majority of studies used the candidate-gene approach, assessing 12 different genes. The glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) displayed different methylation patterns in chronic stress and depression. The serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) methylation was similarly affected in stress, depression and burnout. Work-related stress and depressive symptoms were associated with different methylation patterns of the brain derived neurotrophic factor gene (BDNF) in the same human sample. The tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) methylation was correlated with work stress in a single study. Additional, thoroughly designed longitudinal studies are necessary for revealing the cause-effect relationship of work stress, epigenetics and burnout, including its overlap with depression.
AB - Despite that burnout presents a serious burden for modern society, there are no diagnostic criteria. Additional difficulty is the differential diagnosis with depression. Consequently, there is a need to dispose of a burnout biomarker. Epigenetic studies suggest that DNA methylation is a possible mediator linking individual response to stress and psychopathology and could be considered as a potential biomarker of stress-related mental disorders. Thus, the aim of this review is to provide an overview of DNA methylation mechanisms in stress, burnout and depression. In addition to state-of-the-art overview, the goal of this review is to provide a scientific base for burnout biomarker research. We performed a systematic literature search and identified 25 pertinent articles. Among these, 15 focused on depression, 7 on chronic stress and only 3 on work stress/burnout. Three epigenome-wide studies were identified and the majority of studies used the candidate-gene approach, assessing 12 different genes. The glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) displayed different methylation patterns in chronic stress and depression. The serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) methylation was similarly affected in stress, depression and burnout. Work-related stress and depressive symptoms were associated with different methylation patterns of the brain derived neurotrophic factor gene (BDNF) in the same human sample. The tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) methylation was correlated with work stress in a single study. Additional, thoroughly designed longitudinal studies are necessary for revealing the cause-effect relationship of work stress, epigenetics and burnout, including its overlap with depression.
KW - Biomarker
KW - Burnout
KW - Depression
KW - DNA methylation
KW - Epigenetics
KW - Stress
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85002945732&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2016.11.005
DO - 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2016.11.005
M3 - Review article
C2 - 27998510
AN - SCOPUS:85002945732
SN - 0022-3999
VL - 92
SP - 34
EP - 44
JO - Journal of Psychosomatic Research
JF - Journal of Psychosomatic Research
ER -