Burnout reported by 46% of surveyed Chinese anesthesiologists

Researchers surveyed anesthesiologists from 72 hospitals across 22 Chinese provinces between June 16 and 30, 2026. The 698 participants completed questionnaires on occupational demands and resources and the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Human Services Survey. The cross-sectional analysis examined associations with burnout using correlation and multivariable logistic regression methods.

Overall, 324 participants (46.4%) met the study’s burnout criteria. In the fully adjusted model, higher job demands were associated with higher odds of burnout (OR 1.287, 95% CI 1.228–1.350), while greater job resources were associated with lower odds (OR 0.850, 95% CI 0.808–0.893), evaluated at the respective sample means. Age 31–40 and 41–50 years was associated with higher odds than age 30 or younger; being married and having more than 10 years of work experience were associated with lower odds.

The findings point to workload and workplace resources as relevant factors for further evaluation of organizational approaches to burnout. However, the cross-sectional design cannot establish causality, and purposive sampling limits how broadly the results can be generalized beyond the surveyed anesthesiologists in China.