Research
Depressive symptoms and psychosocial stress at work among older employees in three continents
1 Department of Medical Sociology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Duesseldorf, P.O. Box 101007, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
2 International Centre for Life Course Studies in Society and Health, Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK
Globalization and Health 2012, 8:27 doi:10.1186/1744-8603-8-27
Published: 20 July 2012Abstract
Background
To assess whether an association of psychosocial stress at work with depressive symptoms among older employees is evident in a set of comparable empirical studies from Europe, North America and Asia.
Methods
Cross-sectional and longitudinal multivariate regression analyses of data from 4 cohort studies with elder workers (2004 and 2006) testing associations of psychosocial stress at work (‘effort-reward imbalance’; ‘low control’) with depressive symptoms.
Results
Cross-sectional analyses from 17 countries with 14.236 participants reveal elevated odds ratios of depressive symptoms among people experiencing high work stress compared to those with low or no work stress. Adjusted odds ratios vary from 1.64 (95% CI 1.02-2.63) in Japan to 1.97 (95% CI 1.75-2.23) in Europe and 2.28 (95% CI 1.59-3.28) in the USA. Odds ratios from additional longitudinal analyses (in 13 countries) controlling for baseline depression are smaller, but remain in part significant.
Conclusion
Findings indicate that psychosocial stress at work might be a relevant risk factor for depressive symptoms among older employees across countries and continents. This observation may call for global policy efforts to improve quality of work in view of a rapidly aging workforce, in particular in times of economic globalization.
