Professional burnout was recently incorporated into the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization (WHO), which is used to establish health statistics.
The list, drawn up by WHO, is based on the findings of medical experts from around the world. It was adopted by the Member States of WHO, meeting since May 20th in Geneva in the framework of the World Assembly of the organization.
Professional burnout, which was incorporated into the “associated problems” section of employment or unemployment, will carry the QD85 code.
It was described as
a syndrome […] resulting from a chronic stress at work that was not managed successfully, characterized by three elements: a sense of exhaustion, cynicism or negative feelings related to their work and a reduced professional efficiency.”
The WHO register states that professional burnout refers specifically to phenomena related to the professional context and should not be used to describe experiences in other areas of life.
The new classification will take effect on January 1st, 2022. It includes new chapters, one of which is dedicated to sexual health. It covers conditions previously classified in other lists, such as the “gender incongruence”, such as transsexuality, until now classified in the section on mental illness.
The video game disorder was added to the dependency disorders section. The new WHO classification also proposes a new chapter on traditional medicine.