World Health Organization clarifies ‘burnout’ not a disease

GENEVA – The World Health Organization said Tuesday that “burnout” remains an “occupational phenomenon” that could lead someone to seek care but it is not considered a medical condition.

The clarification came a day after the WHO mistakenly said it had listed burnout in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD) for the first time.

The World Health Assembly, WHO’s main annual meeting which wraps up on Tuesday, approved at the weekend the latest catalog of diseases and injuries, collectively known as the ICD-11.

While burnout was listed in the previous version, the ICD-10, its definition has been changed in the latest edition of the text.

“The definition has been modified based on existing research,” a WHO spokesperson said in an email.

WHO has now defined burnout as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”

The updated ICD list was drafted last year following recommendations from health experts around the world.