Reciprocal associations between job strain and depression: A 2‐year follow‐up study from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe

Abstract

Background A growing number of people suffered from depression. This study examined the depression prevalence in workers across 10 European countries plus Israel and the reciprocal associations between job strain and depression. Methods The study population consisted of 7,879 workers aged 50–63 years at baseline (2004) from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Job demands (physical or psychosocial) and job control variables were derived from the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ). Two 4‐category job strains (physical and psychosocial) were obtained based on the cross‐tabulation of these dichotomized demands and control variables. There were 4,284 depression‐free, 3,259 high physical strain‐free and 3,195 high psychosocial strain‐free participants at baseline who were followed up for 2 years to detect incident depression, high physical job strain, or high psychosocial strain, respectively. The reciprocal associations between job strain and depression were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression and multivariate multilevel logistic regression adjusting for potential confounders. Results The prevalence of depression varied from the lowest 12.5% in Germany to the highest 27.2% in France. Compared to individuals with low strain, a significantly higher risk of depression were found in individuals with high physical strain (OR = 1.39) and high psychosocial strain (OR = 1.55), after adjusting for potential confounders. Depression at baseline was not significantly associated with subsequent high job strain. Similar results were observed from multilevel models that took into consideration of the potential country‐level influences. Conclusions The prevalence of depression varies across countries in Europe. Avoiding high job strain may be an effective preventive strategy to prevent depression epidemic.

Depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment: A 10-year follow-up study from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe

“…Marital status was obtained by asking the participants: "What is your marital status?" and living arrangement by the question: "Do you have a partner who lives outside this household?," these two variables were integrated into one and was categorized into living with a partner (married and living with spouse or registered partnership in the same household) and living alone (married but not living with spouse, never married, divorced, or widowed) as in previous studies [51].…”

Working Conditions and Health Among Italian Ageing Workers

“…In contrast, a higher prevalence of depression was present among workers 50-63 years participating in the SHARE study, although with high variability among European countries, ranging from 12% in Germany to 27% in France (Qiao et al, 2019). Another study combining data from SHARE and ELSA estimated an overall prevalence of depressive symptoms of 14% among workers 50-64 years (Siegrist et al, 2012), similar to that observed in a Swedish study (Nyberg et al, 2019).…”

Objective Job Demands of Oneself and One’s Partner, and Depressive Symptoms. Evidence from a Nationally Representative Longitudinal Study

“…A corresponding pathway seems reasonable with respect to the association between the partner’s job demands and one’s own depressive symptoms. Studies have shown that physical work can increase the stress [ 46 ] and damage the mental health [ 47 ] of an individual, and that such developments can lead to increased depressive symptoms for the individual’s partner, more particularly among women [ 10 , 48 ].…”