Mental health by gender-specific occupational groups : Profiles, risks and dominance of predictors

Background: We defined gender-specific profiles of mental ill-health for the main occupational groups using three outcomes; antidepressant use, sickness absence (SA) due to depression, and suicides. We also examined which occupational groups had the highest risk of the outcomes, and compared the importance of their predictors. Methods: From a random register cohort of Finnish working age population, individuals in the six largest occupational groups in 2004 for men and women were included (N = 414 357). We used register data to define the first antidepressant purchase (i.e. use), the first long-term SA spell for depression, and suicide between Jan 1st 2005 and Dec 31st 2014. We assessed the risk of each outcome by occupational group with logistic regression models, and used dominance analysis to compare the relative importance of predictors. Results: In all six occupational groups for women, the prevalence of antidepressant use and SA for depression was higher than in the men's occupational groups. The opposite was observed for suicides. The risk of antidepressant use was lower, but the risk of suicide was 2-times higher among men in low vs. high-skilled occupations. Among women, a lower skill-level was associated with a higher risk of SA due to depression. Gender was the most important predictor of all outcomes. Limitations: We lacked information on history of medication use or health problems prior to follow-up. Conclusions: Gendered occupational status was an underlying factor explaining distinctive mental health profiles in the working population. Occupational class-dependent behavioural patterns related to mental health existed among men.Peer reviewe

Distinctive use of newer and older antidepressants in major geographical areas : A nationally representative register-based study

Background It is unknown whether newer, mainly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and older tricyclic antidepressants are used similarly regardless of the geographical area of residence and education. Methods We included four randomly sampled cohorts of the Finnish working aged population (n = 998,540–1,033,135). The sampling (Dec 31st in 1995, 2000, 2004 and 2010) resulted in non-overlapping time windows where each participant was followed up for four years for the first antidepressant use. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we examined whether the hazard of antidepressant use differed between the capital area and three other areas (Southern, Western and Northern/Eastern Finland). Educational differences were examined using four sub-groups: capital area/high education (reference category); other areas/high education; capital area/low education; and other areas/low education. Results Hazard ratios for the use of newer antidepressants were significantly lower in all other areas compared to the capital area after adjustment for age, sex, marital status, employment status, education, income, and area-level unemployment. Findings remained consistent in all time windows, differences increasing slightly. In the sub-group analysis those with low education had the lowest level of use in all areas, also within the capital area. The results were opposite for older antidepressants in all but the last time window. Limitations Some degree of unmeasured confounding and exposure misclassification is likely to exist. Conclusions Newer antidepressants were more commonly used in the capital than in the other areas, and among those with high versus low education. These differences in antidepressant use suggest socioeconomic inequalities in the mental health treatment quality.Peer reviewe

Physical working conditions and subsequent sickness absence : a record linkage follow-up study among 19-39-year-old municipal employees

Purpose Physical work exposures are associated with sickness absence among older employees. We aimed to examine if they similarly contribute to all-cause sickness absence during early and mid-careers. Methods We used questionnaire data on physical work exposures linked to register data on sickness absence from 3542 municipal employees aged 19-39 years. Follow-up for the number of sickness absence days was 12 months. Exposures to physical workload, occupational environmental hazards, and sedentary work were divided into quartiles. In addition, duration of daily exposure to heavy work was included. Negative binomial regression models were used. Results Higher exposure to physical workload or hazardous exposures was associated with a higher number of sickness absence days. The age and gender adjusted rate ratios for sickness absence days among the participants whose exposure to physical workload was in the highest exposure quartile were 2.1 (95% CI 1.8-2.5) compared with those whose exposure was in the lowest quartile. In addition, rate ratios for sickness absence days among participants who reported that they do heavy physical work 1.1-2.0 h, 2.1-4.0 h or over 4 h daily were 1.6 (1.3-1.9), 1.5 (1.3-1.8) and 1.7 (1.5-2.1), respectively, compared with those who reported not doing physical work. Further adjustment for lifestyle factors or health characteristics attenuated the associations only slightly. Conclusion Exposure to physically demanding work is associated with a higher number of sickness absence days among municipal employees below 40 years of age. Physical working conditions should be considered when aiming to support later work ability.Peer reviewe

Recurrent back pain during working life and exit from paid employment : a 28-year follow-up of the Whitehall II Study.

Objectives To examine the impact of recurrent, as compared with single, reports of back pain on exit from paid employment over decades of follow-up. Methods The study sample was from the British Whitehall II Study cohort (n=8665, 69% men, aged 35-55 at baseline), who had provided information about their reports of back pain between 1985 and 1994. Data about exit from paid employment (health-related and non-health related exit, unemployment and other exit) were collected between 1995 and 2013. Repeated measures logistic regression models were fitted to examine the associations, and adjust for covariates. Results Recurrent pain was reported by 18% of participants, while 26% reported pain on an occasion and 56% did not report pain. Report of back pain on an occasion was not associated with health-related job exit, whereas recurrent pain was associated with such an exit (OR 1.51; 95% CI 1.15 to 1.99), when compared with those who did not report pain. These associations were somewhat stronger among middle-grade and lower-grade employees, while these associations were not seen among higher-grade employees. Differences in associations by age and psychosocial working conditions were small. Conclusions These results highlight the need for early detection of recurrent back pain to prevent exit out of paid employment for health reasons. As the risk varies by occupational grade, this emphasises the importance of identification of high-risk groups and finding ways to address their modifiable risk factors.Peer reviewe

Timing of Entry into Paid Employment, Adverse Physical Work Exposures and Health : The Young Helsinki Health Study

It is not well known how the timing of entry into paid employment and physical work exposures contribute to different health outcomes in young employees. Thus, we determined the associations of age at entry into paid employment and physical work exposures with general and mental health in young employees and determined whether associations differ by behavior-related risk factors. Data were collected via online and mailed surveys in autumn 2017 from employees of the City of Helsinki aged 18–39 years (n = 5897; 4630 women and 1267 men, response rate 51.5%). Surveys comprised measures of age at entry into paid employment, seven working conditions, behavior-related risk factors and health outcomes (self-rated health [SRH] and common mental disorders [CMD] as generic indicators of physical and mental health). Logistic regression analysis was used. After full adjustment, age at entry was not associated with the health outcomes; however, in additional analyses, younger age at first employment was associated with smoking and obesity (OR 3.00, 95% CI 2.34–3.85 and 1.67, 95% CI 1.32–2.11 for those started working at age of ≤18 years, respectively). Of the working conditions, sitting and standing were positively associated with poor SRH and CMD and uncomfortable working postures with CMD. Working conditions were broadly similarly associated with health outcomes among those with and without behavior-related risk factors. Although we found little support for modification by behavior-related risk factors, overweight, obesity and smoking were associated with poor SRH and binge drinking and smoking with CMD. Additionally, moderate and high levels of leisure-time physical activity were inversely associated with poor SRH. In conclusion, early entry into paid employment appears not to associate to immediate poorer health in young employees, although it was associated with smoking and obesity even after full adjustment. Exposure to physically heavy work and uncomfortable working postures may increase the risk of adverse health outcomes

Multi-level, cross-sectional study of workplace social capital and smoking among Japanese employees

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Social capital is hypothesized to be relevant to health promotion, and the association between community social capital and cigarette smoking has been examined. Individual-level social capital has been found to be associated with smoking cessation, but evidence remains sparse on the contextual effect of social capital and smoking. Further, evidence remains sparse on the association between smoking and social capital in the workplace, where people are spending an increasing portion of their daily lives. We examined the association between workplace social capital and smoking status among Japanese private sector employees.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We employed a two-stage stratified random sampling procedure. Of the total of 1,800 subjects in 60 companies, 1,171 (men/women; 834/337) employees (65.1%) were identified from 46 companies in Okayama in 2007. Workplace social capital was assessed in two dimensions; trust and reciprocity. Company-level social capital was based on inquiring about employee perceptions of trust and reciprocity among co-workers, and then aggregating their responses in order to calculate the proportion of workers reporting mistrust and lack of reciprocity. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was conducted using Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods to explore whether individual- and company-level social capital was associated with smoking. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% credible intervals (CIs) for current smoking were obtained.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, 33.3% of the subjects smoked currently. There was no relationship between individual-level mistrust of others and smoking status. By contrast, one-standard deviation change in company-level mistrust was associated with higher odds of smoking (OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.06-1.46) even after controlling for individual-level mistrust, sex, age, occupation, educational attainment, alcohol use, physical activity, body mass index, and chronic diseases. No clear associations were found between lack of reciprocity and smoking both at the individual- and company-level.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Company-level mistrust is associated with higher likelihood of smoking among Japanese employees, while individual perceptions of mistrust were not associated. The link between lack of reciprocity and smoking was not supported either at the individual- or company-level. Further studies are warranted to examine the possible link between company-level trust and smoking cessation in the Japanese workplace.</p

Psychometric evaluation of a short measure of social capital at work

BACKGROUND: Prior studies on social capital and health have assessed social capital in residential neighbourhoods and communities, but the question whether the concept should also be applicable in workplaces has been raised. The present study reports on the psychometric properties of an 8-item measure of social capital at work. METHODS: Data were derived from the Finnish Public Sector Study (N = 48,592) collected in 2000–2002. Based on face validity, an expert unfamiliar with the data selected 8 questionnaire items from the available items for a scale of social capital. Reliability analysis included tests of internal consistency, item-total correlations, and within-unit (interrater) agreement by r(wg )index. The associations with theoretically related and unrelated constructs were examined to assess convergent and divergent validity (construct validity). Criterion-related validity was explored with respect to self-rated health using multilevel logistic regression models. The effects of individual level and work unit level social capital were modelled on self-rated health. RESULTS: The internal consistency of the scale was good (Cronbach's alpha = 0.88). The r(wg )index was 0.88, which indicates a significant within-unit agreement. The scale was associated with, but not redundant to, conceptually close constructs such as procedural justice, job control, and effort-reward imbalance. Its associations with conceptually more distant concepts, such as trait anxiety and magnitude of change in work, were weaker. In multilevel models, significantly elevated age adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of poor self-rated health (OR = 2.42, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.24–2.61 for the women and OR = 2.99, 95% CI: 2.56–3.50 for the men) were observed for the employees in the lowest vs. highest quartile of individual level social capital. In addition, low social capital at the work unit level was associated with a higher likelihood of poor self-rated health. CONCLUSION: Psychometric techniques show our 8-item measure of social capital to be a valid tool reflecting the construct and displaying the postulated links with other variables

Managing risks to drivers in road transport

This report presents a number of case studies in managing risks to road transport drivers. The cases feature a variety of initiatives and interventions to protect drivers.In the road transport sector, as with any other, it is important to pay attention to working conditions in order to ensure a skilled and motivated workforce. Certain characteristics of the sector make it more difficult to practice risk management than in other sectors. But by taking account of how the sector operates in practice, and the characteristics of drivers themselves and the way they work, risks can be successfully manage

Change in BMI Accurately Predicted by Social Exposure to Acquaintances

Research has mostly focused on obesity and not on processes of BMI change more generally, although these may be key factors that lead to obesity. Studies have suggested that obesity is affected by social ties. However these studies used survey based data collection techniques that may be biased toward select only close friends and relatives. In this study, mobile phone sensing techniques were used to routinely capture social interaction data in an undergraduate dorm. By automating the capture of social interaction data, the limitations of self-reported social exposure data are avoided. This study attempts to understand and develop a model that best describes the change in BMI using social interaction data. We evaluated a cohort of 42 college students in a co-located university dorm, automatically captured via mobile phones and survey based health-related information. We determined the most predictive variables for change in BMI using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method. The selected variables, with gender, healthy diet category, and ability to manage stress, were used to build multiple linear regression models that estimate the effect of exposure and individual factors on change in BMI. We identified the best model using Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and R[superscript 2]. This study found a model that explains 68% (p<0.0001) of the variation in change in BMI. The model combined social interaction data, especially from acquaintances, and personal health-related information to explain change in BMI. This is the first study taking into account both interactions with different levels of social interaction and personal health-related information. Social interactions with acquaintances accounted for more than half the variation in change in BMI. This suggests the importance of not only individual health information but also the significance of social interactions with people we are exposed to, even people we may not consider as close friends.MIT Masdar ProgramMIT Media Lab Consortiu

Association between Interpersonal Trust, Reciprocity, and Depression in South Korea: A Prospective Analysis

Background: A growing body of empirical evidence indicates that low-level social capital is related to poor mental health outcomes. However, the prospective association between social capital and depression remains unclear, and no published studies have investigated the association with longitudinal data in East-Asian countries. Methods: We analyzed data from the ongoing Korean Welfare Panel Study to prospectively investigate association between social capital and depression. Social capital was measured at the individual level by two items specific to interpersonal trust and reciprocity. Depression was annually assessed as a dichotomous variable using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. After excluding participants who had depression in 2006, logistic regression models were applied to estimate the association between each social capital indicator and new-onset depression developed in 2007 or long-term depression in both 2007 and 2008. We also examined the association in a subpopulation restricted to healthy participants after excluding individuals with any pre-existing disability, chronic disease, or poor self-rated health condition. Results: Compared to the high interpersonal trust group, the odds ratios of developing new-onset and long-term depression among the low interpersonal trust group were 1.22 (95% CI: 1.08∼1.38) and 1.23 (95% CI: 1.03∼1.50), respectively, and increased to 1.32 (95% CI: 1.10∼1.57) and 1.47 (95% CI: 1.05∼2.08) in the subpopulation analyses restricted to healthy individuals. Although the low and intermediate reciprocity group also had significantly higher odds of developing new-onset depression compared to the high reciprocity group, the effects were attenuated and statistically non-significant in the subpopulation analyses. Conclusion: Low interpersonal trust appears to be an independent risk factor for new-onset and long-term depression in South Korea