Table 1 Eligibility criteria

P opulation

working population, age: 17+ (no age limit because of manifestation of effect in old age)

age <17 years, unemployed subjects

E xposures

Psychosocial work stressors:

chemical (e.g. solvents, lead, manganese) or physical factors (e.g. noise, electromagnetic fields), physical requirements of the job, not-work-environment-related stressors (e.g. family caregiving), vocational training or study

stress, mental load, work load, effort, reward, job strain, job demand, job control, shift work, time pressure, job insecurity, institutional changes like down-sizing or merger, social support/ mobbing, bullying, leadership style, climate, work-related justice

O utcome

burnout and emotional exhaustion

physical disorders/ impairments, chronic fatigue syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychological distress, psychiatric distress, psycho-social well-being, mental health or psychiatric morbidity in general

O utcome M easure

valid self-rating scales, clinical diagnosis with/ without structured interview, secondary data

unvalidated instruments (e.g. single items)

D esign

cohort, case–control, RCT

all others

P ublication T ype

articles in journals and with available abstract

books, book chapters, book reviews, comments, corrections, editorials, introductions, forewords, letters, replies, dissertations