Respirationsdomänen från Global Body Examination: intrabedömarreliabilitet och korrelation med självskattad besvärsgrad vid utmattningssyndrom

Sammanfattning: Background: Stress-Related Exhaustion (SE) has increased in the last 10 years. Examination is key for good care, but research on body examinations for SE is lacking. Clinically, autonomic stress response with affected respiratory patterns can be observed in SE.  Global Body Examination (GBE) can be used to evaluate autonomic stress responses. GBE has a respiratory domain (rGBE) that has been tested for validity, but not for its intra-rater reliability. Moreover, its’ association with SE symptom severity is unknown. Aim: To examine intra-rater reliability of rGBE in SE, and concurrent validity between rGBE and symptom severity in SE, measured with the self-reported outcome measure Shirom-Melamed Burnout Questionnaire (SMBQ). Method: Test-retest and cross-sectional design was used in the study, with a sample of convenience. Intra-rater reliability was analyzed with ICC, standard error of measurement (SEM) and agreement through a Bland-Altman plot. Spearman’s rho was used to analyze correlation between SMBQ and rGBE. Result: Sample size was 25. Intra-rater reliability was very high (ICC: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.86-0.97, p<0.01). Bland-Altman plot revealed no systematic errors. Mean of rGBE: 7.51 (SD2.14) with SEM: 0.56. Correlation between rGBE and SMBQ was low, Spearman’s rho=0.48,95% CI: 0.09-0.74, p=0,02, with 22% shared variance. Conclusion: rGBE shows good intra-rater reliability and seems suitable for examining SE symptoms. However, its use in diagnostic and to determinate symptom severity in SE remains uncertain due to the wide CI. Beyond SE, rGBE might be useful for other disorders affecting the autonomic balance, as well as diseases that affect respiration.