Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37372792›Full record

ArticleHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2023

Mentally Demanding Work and Strain: Effects of Study Duration on Fatigue, Vigor, and Distress in Undergraduate Medical Students.

Gerhard Blasche, Tav A K Khanaqa, Michaela Wagner-Menghin

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. The Impact of Coursework Demand and Learning Engagement on Mental Fatigue in Online College Students.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Gerhard BlascheCenter for Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-4779-4843
Tav A K KhanaqaCenter for Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
Michaela Wagner-MenghinDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Clinical Division for Social Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0003-1645-7577
Medical University of Vienna · AT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsThe impact of the extent of mentally demanding work on the next-day's strain is largely unknown, as existing studies generally investigate consequences of extended versus normal workdays. The present study sought to fill this gap by investigating how short work periods of mentally demanding academic work impact strain reactions in medical students preparing for an exam, using days of no work as reference category.

methodThe observational design involved students repeatedly self-reporting fatigue, vigor, distress, and the preceding day's study duration. Hours of nocturnal sleep, attending paid work and compulsory classes, gender, and proximity to the exam were controls in the linear model (generalized estimating equations). Forty-nine students provided 411 self-reports (M = 8.6, SD = 7.0 self-reports/student).

resultsEngaging in mentally demanding work was associated with increased distress and work periods > 4 h with increased fatigue. Distress, vigor loss, and fatigue increased in proximity to the exam.

conclusionDespite students' high control of their schedule, even short periods of mentally highly demanding work may impair next-day's well-being when task motivation is high. Freelancers and students might require health-promoting scheduling of work and leisure to avoid an accumulation of strain.

Indexed as

academic stressfatiguemental workstudyingwork hours

Identifiers

PMID37372792
PMCPMC10298359
OpenAlexW4379794348

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.