Pilot study: mindfulness-based intervention reduces burnout syndrome and associated biomarkers in a Mexican university population

INTRODUCTION: In Mexico, 25–45% of medical students experience burnout syndrome, which may 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, professors and administrative staff from the Faculty of Medicine at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico. METHODS: An exploratory pilot quasi-experimental study 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 the evolution on psychological, biological, and neurophysiological parameters. Data was analyzed using either the paired Student’s t-test or the Wilcoxon test. RESULTS: This study recruited 38 participants with a mean age of 28 years, 84% of whom were women. 24% of the cohort were first-year students, and over half attended all sessions. The intervention yielded significant effects on reduction in cortisol levels (p < 0.001) and in the dimensions of emotional exhaustion (EE, p < 0.001) and depersonalization (DP, p = 0.008), and an increase in the sense of personal accomplishment (PA, p < 0.001)—as well as on P300 amplitude (p = 0.032). DISCUSSION: The findings indicated that mindfulness-based intervention suggests a positive effect on burnout syndrome, cortisol levels, and influences neurophysiological metrics such as the P300 amplitude. Future studies should be conducted in more controlled trials with a larger, more homogeneous sample to ensure the replicability of these data and explore their long-term effects.