Chronischen Stress messen: Was Blutwerte, Fragebögen und Burnout-Tests leisten

<h4>Background</h4>Since its introduction, the definition and diagnosis of burnout remain controversial. Although the literature distinguishes between severe clinical burnout, characterized by debilitating symptoms and prolonged recovery, and milder burnout complaints in generally healthy employees, unclear diagnostic criteria hinder reliable differentiation. As clinical burnout is often framed as an outcome of chronic stress, clarifying how chronic stress is defined and measured is crucial to improve the understanding, diagnosis, and distinction of clinical burnout.<h4>Objective</h4>This scoping review synthesizes results from systematic reviews using an integrative approach. It examines how chronic stress is defined and measured, from psychosocial, biological, and biopsychosocial perspectives. Additionally, it explores the discriminative value of these measurement approaches in identifying individuals at risk of chronic stress-related disorders and in diagnosing clinical burnout.<h4>Methods</h4>A systematic search was performed on April 9th, 2024, and updated on July 8th, 2025 (PsychInfo, Embase, Medline and PubMed), following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. The search identified 2,645 abstracts, 219 were included for full text screening, and 45 reviews were analyzed, covering over 2000 studies.<h4>Results</h4>Across reviews, definitions of chronic stress varied, referring to either internal and external stressors or to stress responses. Measurements ranged from biomarkers and p

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: The study aimed to examine the impact of allostatic load on healthy ageing over a decade and whether social participation attenuates this relationship among older American adults. <b>Methods</b>: Data were extracted from three waves (wave 8, wave 10, wave 13) of the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal survey of American adults. The analysis included allostatic load, socioeconomic (education) and demographic (gender, age, ethnicity, and marital status) factors at baseline, social participation in wave 10, and healthy ageing in wave 10 and wave 13. A latent variable was created for allostatic load that included waist circumference, C-reactive protein, glycated hemoglobin, and blood pressure. Healthy ageing was defined as an aggregate measure including freedom from disability, freedom from cognitive impairment, and high physical functioning. Social participation was a dichotomous variable that included individuals' work status, perceived neighbourhood safety, and partaking in volunteer work. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the direct and indirect relationships between these factors and healthy ageing. <b>Results</b>: A total of 14,537 participants with complete data in all waves were included in the analysis. The mean age at baseline was 68.7 years. Results showed a significant association between higher allostatic load and lower healthy ageing (estimate = -0.12, 95% CI: -0.14, -0.11). Allostatic load was negatively associa