Effect of a mindfulness-based intervention on burnout syndrome and associated biochemical and cognitive biomarkers: a case study in a university population sample

Objectives In Mexico, 25-45% of medical students experience burnout syndrome, which can be reduced through mindfulness-based interventions (MBI). No study has evaluated this intervention's impact on our country's population. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effects of an eight-week MBI on medical students and university workers. Method A quasi-experimental design incorporating pre- and post-tests was implemented with 38 participants. The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program was conducted over 8 weeks to evaluate its efficacy on psychological, biological, and neurophysiological parameters. Data were analyzed using either the paired Student’s t-test or the Wilcoxon test. Results Thirty-eight participants, with a mean age of 28 years, were recruited for this study. Of these, 84% were women. Twenty-four percent of this population were first-year students, and more than half attended all sessions. The intervention had significant effects on cortisol levels (p = 0.000), burnout syndrome in three dimensions (EE, p = 0.000; DP, p = 0.008; and PA, p = 0.000), and the P300 amplitude (p = 0.032). Conclusions The findings indicated that mindfulness-based intervention significantly alleviated burnout syndrome, lowered cortisol levels, and influenced neurophysiological metrics such as the P-300 amplitude. Future studies should explore its long-term effects.