Background: The prevalence of mental illnesses among industrial workers is found to be 14% - 51%, which is more than that in the general population. Individual’s psychosocial functioning has an impact on the work efficiency. The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence of probable mental illness and its associated factors among workers in selected tea estates in South India. Methods: A cross sectional study was done in two tea estates in Tamil Nadu from March to May, 2012.  The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) 28 was used to screen for probable mental illness. Sociodemographic details, work profile and associated risk factors were also elicited. Results: Among the 400 subjects interviewed, 75.5% were females. The mean age was 43.21 (±7.47) years and the mean work experience was 21.38 (±9.31) years. In our study 12.8% subjects screened positive for probable mental illness and 1%, 1%, 0.2% and 1.5% screened positive in the domains somatic symptoms, anxiety/insomnia, social dysfunction and severe depression respectively. Workers who screened positive for probable mental illness had availed significantly greater duration of leave in the previous year. There was no significant association of mental illness with age, gender, marital status, substance abuse, designation, co-morbidity and stressful life events. Conclusions: There is a need to screen individuals in different occupation for probable mental illness and those screened positive need evaluation by a psychiatrist. There is also a need to explore associated factors in order to improve one’s health and work efficiency.

Introduction: The prevalence of mental illnesses among industrial workers ranged between 14% - 51%, which is more than that of the general population. Individual’s psychosocial functioning has an impact on the work efficiency and hence the current study was undertaken to screen workers in tea plantations.Objective: To document the prevalence of probable mental illness and its associated factors among workers in selected tea estates in South India.Methodology: A cross sectional study was done in two tea estates in Tamil Nadu from March to May 2012.  The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) 28 was used to screen for mental health status. Socio-demographic details, work profile and associated risk factors were also documented.Results: Among the 400 subjects interviewed, 75.5% were females. The mean age was 43.21 (±7.47) years and the mean work experience was 21.38 (±9.31) years. In this study 12.8% subjects screened positive for probable mental illness and 1%, 1%, 0.2% and 1.5% screened positive for the domains of somatic symptoms, anxiety/insomnia, social dysfunction and severe depression respectively. Workers who screened positive for probable mental illness had availed significantly greater duration of leave in the previous year. There was no significant association of mental illness with age, gender, marital status, substance abuse, designation, co-morbidity and stressful life events.Conclusion: The prevalence of probable mental illness was similar to other occupational settings. Management of the associated risk factors may improve one’s work efficiency and productivity.

Background: Non communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death globally. Laboratory personnel working with so many hazards and difficult time schedule report job strain and stress at work place. They are prone for the development of NCDs. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence and profile of NCDs and lifestyle disorders and their associated factors among laboratory personnel in a private tertiary care hospital. Methodology: A cross sectional study was undertaken in a private tertiary care hospital in Bangalore, South India. Data was collected by interview, conducting medical examination and review of medical records. Results: Of the115 laboratory personnel, majority were females, young (≤ 30 years), graduates and were married; worked in Clinical Pathology, involved in sample processing, permanent workers with a median work experience of 6 years. Obesity was the commonest health issue with a prevalence of 19.1%, followed by hypertension, hypothyroidism and alcohol consumption with prevalence of 14.8%, 12.2% and 12.2% respectively. Obesity was the commonest among most of the subgroups. Alcohol consumption and smoking were common among males, Microbiology and housekeeping workers. By univariate logistic regression analysis, workers in 41-50 years age, lesser educated, ever married, housekeeping, permanent and with more experience had significantly more number of health issues. By multivariate logistic regression analysis, workers with more experience had significantly more number of health issues (Adjusted OR: 5.3, 95% CI: 1.2-23.9) as compared to other groups. Conclusion: Findings from our study will provide a base for future interventional studies. Interventions in workplace settings are very cost-effective in preventing NCDs and lifestyle disorders. Healthy workers and healthy workplaces can positively impact even the health of household members of the workers.