Burnout and somatic symptoms among frontline healthcare professionals at the peak of the Italian COVID-19 pandemic

Italy is among the most severely hit nations in terms of hospital patients’overload, and its healthcare workforce is struggling to cope with challenges that couldthreaten their own wellbeing. In this scenario, understanding the health-related consequences of COVID-19 outbreak on Italian frontline healthcare professionals isurgent. Our study provides afirst account of the huge psycho-physical impact of COVID-19 outbreak for healthcare workers in Italy. Italian healthcare professionalsreported relevant work-related psychological pressure, emotional burnout and somatic symptoms. This result requires attention as previous studies showed thatemotional distress is associated with long-lasting effect on professionals’health, including risk of post-traumatic stress disorder.