TY - JOUR

T1 - Associations between depressive symptoms and 5-year subsequent work nonparticipation due to long-term sickness absence, unemployment and early retirement in a cohort of 2,413 employees in Germany

AU - Rose, Uwe

AU - Kersten, Norbert

AU - Pattloch, Dagmar

AU - Conway, Paul Maurice

AU - Burr, Hermann

N1 - Funding Information: The Study on Mental Health at Work (S-MGA) was conducted in collaboration with the Institute for Employment Research (IAB). The S-MGA was based on samples from statistics of the Federal Employment Agency (BA), which were merged into Integrated Employment Biographies by the IAB. We thank the participating employees and Infas (Institute of Applied Social Sciences) for collecting the data. We thank the reviewers for their thoughtful comments. We also thank Springer Nature Author Services for the language check. Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - BACKGROUND: We examined the association of depressive symptoms with subsequent events - and duration thereof - of work nonparticipation (long-term sickness absence, unemployment and early retirement).METHODS: We employed a 5-year cohort from the Study on Mental Health at Work (S-MGA), based on a random sample of employees subject to social contributions aged 31-60 years in 2012 (N = 2413). Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline through questionnaires, while work nonparticipation was recorded in follow-up interviews. Associations of depressive symptoms with subsequent events of work nonparticipation were examined in two-part models, with events analysed by logistic regressions and their duration by generalized linear models.RESULTS: Medium to severe depressive symptoms were associated with events of work nonparticipation (males Odds Ratio [OR] = 3.22; 95% CI = 1.90-5.45; females OR = 1.92; 95% CI = 1.29-2.87), especially with events of long-term sickness absence in both genders and events of unemployment in males. Mild depressive symptoms were also associated with events of work nonparticipation (males OR = 1.59; 95% CI = 1.19-2.11; females OR = 1.42; 95% CI = 1.10-1.84). Among those experiencing one or more events, the duration of total work nonparticipation was twice as high among males [Exp(β) = 2.06; 95% CI = 1.53-2.78] and about one third higher [Exp(β) = 1.38; 95% CI = 1.05-1.83] among females with medium to severe depressive symptoms.CONCLUSIONS: The present study focuses on both events and duration of work nonparticipation, which are both critical for examining societal consequences of depressive symptoms. It is key to regard also mild depressive symptoms as a possible risk factor and to include different types of work nonparticipation.

AB - BACKGROUND: We examined the association of depressive symptoms with subsequent events - and duration thereof - of work nonparticipation (long-term sickness absence, unemployment and early retirement).METHODS: We employed a 5-year cohort from the Study on Mental Health at Work (S-MGA), based on a random sample of employees subject to social contributions aged 31-60 years in 2012 (N = 2413). Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline through questionnaires, while work nonparticipation was recorded in follow-up interviews. Associations of depressive symptoms with subsequent events of work nonparticipation were examined in two-part models, with events analysed by logistic regressions and their duration by generalized linear models.RESULTS: Medium to severe depressive symptoms were associated with events of work nonparticipation (males Odds Ratio [OR] = 3.22; 95% CI = 1.90-5.45; females OR = 1.92; 95% CI = 1.29-2.87), especially with events of long-term sickness absence in both genders and events of unemployment in males. Mild depressive symptoms were also associated with events of work nonparticipation (males OR = 1.59; 95% CI = 1.19-2.11; females OR = 1.42; 95% CI = 1.10-1.84). Among those experiencing one or more events, the duration of total work nonparticipation was twice as high among males [Exp(β) = 2.06; 95% CI = 1.53-2.78] and about one third higher [Exp(β) = 1.38; 95% CI = 1.05-1.83] among females with medium to severe depressive symptoms.CONCLUSIONS: The present study focuses on both events and duration of work nonparticipation, which are both critical for examining societal consequences of depressive symptoms. It is key to regard also mild depressive symptoms as a possible risk factor and to include different types of work nonparticipation.

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Female

KW - Unemployment

KW - Retirement

KW - Depression/psychology

KW - Risk Factors

KW - Surveys and Questionnaires

KW - Sick Leave

U2 - 10.1186/s12889-023-17090-9

DO - 10.1186/s12889-023-17090-9

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37924018

VL - 23

JO - BMC Public Health

JF - BMC Public Health

SN - 1471-2458

IS - 1

M1 - 2159

ER -