SynthesisBMC psychology2024
Prevalence of emotional burnout among dietitians and nutritionists: a systematic review, meta-analysis, meta-regression, and a call for action.
Synthesis in BMC psychology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Enhancing sustainability competencies: A systematic review of educational interventions for dietitians and nutrition professionals.Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia · 2025Pooled it
- Occupational burnout, self-compassion, and general health among dietitians in Türkiye: a cross-sectional study.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Professional burnout among dietitians and the perceived role of artificial intelligence tools.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Development and baseline findings of a national dataset describing Australian private practice dietetics.Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia · 2026Article
- Workload perception and job satisfaction among Lebanese practicing dietitians: A cross-sectional study by employment location.PloS one · 2026Article
- Oncology nutrition care in Indonesia: a cross-sectional survey to characterise practices, barriers and enablers among nutritionists and dietitians.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- The Association Between Personal, Relational, Organizational and National Resilience Resources and Dietitians' Well-Being During Protracted Conflict: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025Article
- The Role of Registered Dietitians in Cancer Palliative Care: Responsibilities, Challenges, and Interdisciplinary Collaboration-A Cross-Sectional Survey.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Article
- The Paradox of Care: Burnout Among Healthcare Workers.Public health reviews · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectivesDespite anecdotal evidence pointing to the high prevalence of job stress and burnout among dietitians and nutritionists, few studies have been conducted on this topic. Moreover, most studies are from Western countries. The objective of the current study, based on systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression, is aimed to provide systematically graded evidence to assess the prevalence of emotional burnout among dietitians and nutritionists across age, sex, and cultural backgrounds.
methodsTwo reviewers independently conducted a systematic search from 1 January 2000, to 1 April 2024 and was later updated to 15 November 2024, across seven databases: EBSCOhost Research Platform, EMBASE, PubMed/MEDLINE, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Web of Science. The DerSimonian-Laird method was utilized to pool the data in this meta-analysis. Data from a total of 12,166 dietitians and nutritionists were extracted from 16 datasets (published in twelve research reports) covering a period of approximately 25 years. We measured the pooled prevalence of global burnout syndrome and its individual symptoms among dietitians and nutritionists. Subgroup meta-analyses were also conducted to identify a comprehensive set of moderators, including participants' age and sex.
resultsThe prevalence of global burnout syndrome in dietitians and nutritionists (K = 10, N = 10,081) showed an overall prevalence rate of 40.43% [23.69; 59.74], I² = 99.3%, τ [95% CI] = 1.18 [0.84; 1.97], τ² [95% CI] = 1.38 [0.71; 3.89], H [95% CI] = 12.68 [11.70; 13.74]. The prevalence of burnout dimensions/individual symptoms in dietitians and nutritionists (K = 2, N = 695) is summarized as follows: emotional exhaustion (EE) at 26.11% [15.14; 41.17], I² = 84.0%, τ = 0.21, τ² = 0.46, Q = 6.25, p < 0.001; depersonalization (DP) at 6.59% [1.08; 31.22], I² = 95.0%, τ = 1.72, τ² = 1.31, Q = 20.18, p < 0.001; and personal accomplishment (PA) at 59.29% [39.81; 76.23], I² = 89.3%, τ = 0.29, τ² = 0.54, Q = 9.36, p < 0.001. Meta-regression showed no difference by age or sex, p = 0.80, and p = 0.20, respectively.
conclusionThis meta-analysis revealed that the prevalence of burnout among dietitians and nutritionists is as high as in other medical professionals. Furthermore, age and sex were not significantly associated with emotional burnout among dietitians and nutritionists. This study provides the impetus for policy changes to improve dietitians' and nutritionists' working conditions, as well as the overall quality of nutrition care.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.