Abstract
Background Sickness absence has been regarded as an important indicator of workers' health and work productivity. This study is aimed to evaluate the association between depressive symptoms and sickness absence in workers of South Korea. Methods We used nationwide cross-sectional survey data from 2889 individuals in the working population aged over 19 years in South Korea. Depressive symptoms were measured using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Those respondents who scored above 10 on PHQ-9 were regarded as having depressive symptoms. Sickness absence was considered a binary variable with an absence of at least 1 day in the past month. The survey instrument contained questions about sociodemographic factors, lifestyle, work-related factors, and chronic illnesses. Logistic regression models were used to find odds ratios and confidence intervals. Results The prevalence of sickness absence was found to be overall 4.6%. The adjusted odds ratio of sickness absence with depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 score ≥ 10) was 3.63 (Confidence Interval: 2.13–6.20) after controlling of possible confounders. Compared to minimal depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 < 5), the differences between other types of severity of depressive symptoms (mild, moderate, and moderately severe) in terms of mean of all sickness absences were more significant. Limitation The sickness absence based on the memory of the respondent in this study may result in a recall bias. Conclusions Incidence of at least 1 day of sickness absence per month increased the risk of depressive symptoms after controlling for the possible confounding factors in general working population. It may be necessary to consider strategies for assessing depression in the workers who take sick leaves.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 443-449 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Affective Disorders |
| Volume | 227 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 Feb 1 |
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Keywords
- Depression
- Depressive symptoms
- General working population
- Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
- Sick leave
- Sickness absence
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
Cite this
Sickness absence indicating depressive symptoms of working population in South Korea. / Shin, Cheolmin; Ko, Young-Hoon; Yoon, Seoyoung; Jeon, Sang Won; Pae, Chi Un; Kim, Yong Ku; Patkar, Ashwin A.; Han, Changsu.
In: Journal of Affective Disorders, Vol. 227, 01.02.2017, p. 443-449.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Sickness absence indicating depressive symptoms of working population in South Korea
AU - Shin, Cheolmin
AU - Ko, Young-Hoon
AU - Yoon, Seoyoung
AU - Jeon, Sang Won
AU - Pae, Chi Un
AU - Kim, Yong Ku
AU - Patkar, Ashwin A.
AU - Han, Changsu
PY - 2017/2/1
Y1 - 2017/2/1
N2 - Background Sickness absence has been regarded as an important indicator of workers' health and work productivity. This study is aimed to evaluate the association between depressive symptoms and sickness absence in workers of South Korea. Methods We used nationwide cross-sectional survey data from 2889 individuals in the working population aged over 19 years in South Korea. Depressive symptoms were measured using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Those respondents who scored above 10 on PHQ-9 were regarded as having depressive symptoms. Sickness absence was considered a binary variable with an absence of at least 1 day in the past month. The survey instrument contained questions about sociodemographic factors, lifestyle, work-related factors, and chronic illnesses. Logistic regression models were used to find odds ratios and confidence intervals. Results The prevalence of sickness absence was found to be overall 4.6%. The adjusted odds ratio of sickness absence with depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 score ≥ 10) was 3.63 (Confidence Interval: 2.13–6.20) after controlling of possible confounders. Compared to minimal depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 < 5), the differences between other types of severity of depressive symptoms (mild, moderate, and moderately severe) in terms of mean of all sickness absences were more significant. Limitation The sickness absence based on the memory of the respondent in this study may result in a recall bias. Conclusions Incidence of at least 1 day of sickness absence per month increased the risk of depressive symptoms after controlling for the possible confounding factors in general working population. It may be necessary to consider strategies for assessing depression in the workers who take sick leaves.
AB - Background Sickness absence has been regarded as an important indicator of workers' health and work productivity. This study is aimed to evaluate the association between depressive symptoms and sickness absence in workers of South Korea. Methods We used nationwide cross-sectional survey data from 2889 individuals in the working population aged over 19 years in South Korea. Depressive symptoms were measured using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Those respondents who scored above 10 on PHQ-9 were regarded as having depressive symptoms. Sickness absence was considered a binary variable with an absence of at least 1 day in the past month. The survey instrument contained questions about sociodemographic factors, lifestyle, work-related factors, and chronic illnesses. Logistic regression models were used to find odds ratios and confidence intervals. Results The prevalence of sickness absence was found to be overall 4.6%. The adjusted odds ratio of sickness absence with depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 score ≥ 10) was 3.63 (Confidence Interval: 2.13–6.20) after controlling of possible confounders. Compared to minimal depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 < 5), the differences between other types of severity of depressive symptoms (mild, moderate, and moderately severe) in terms of mean of all sickness absences were more significant. Limitation The sickness absence based on the memory of the respondent in this study may result in a recall bias. Conclusions Incidence of at least 1 day of sickness absence per month increased the risk of depressive symptoms after controlling for the possible confounding factors in general working population. It may be necessary to consider strategies for assessing depression in the workers who take sick leaves.
KW - Depression
KW - Depressive symptoms
KW - General working population
KW - Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
KW - Sick leave
KW - Sickness absence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85034068378&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85034068378&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jad.2017.11.030
DO - 10.1016/j.jad.2017.11.030
M3 - Article
VL - 227
SP - 443
EP - 449
JO - Journal of Affective Disorders
JF - Journal of Affective Disorders
SN - 0165-0327
ER -