Occupational position and its relation to mental distress in a random sample of Danish residents

• Published in: International archives of occupational and environmental health Vol. 83; no. 6; pp. 625 - 629
• Main Authors: Rugulies, Reiner, Madsen, Ida E. H., Nielsen, Maj Britt D., Olsen, Lis R., Mortensen, Erik L., Bech, Per
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01-08-2010; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety - etiology; Biological and medical sciences; Cohabitation; Denmark; Depression; Earth and Environmental Science; Employment; Environment; Environmental Health; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - etiology; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Mood disorders; Occupational Exposure; Occupational Medicine/Industrial Medicine; Occupations; Original Article; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Rehabilitation; Social Class; Social classes; Somatoform disorders. Psychosomatics; Stress, Psychological - etiology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Work environment; Workplace - psychology; Young Adult; Denmark; Europe; Depression; Anxiety; Social class; Workplace; Mental disorders; Somatization disorders; Mood disorder; Human; Affect affectivity; Work place; Anxiety disorder; Somatization; Unemployment; Profession; Psychological distress; Employment; Somatoform disorder; Mental disorder; Social aspect; Occupational medicine
• ISSN: 0340-0131; 1432-1246
• DOI: 10.1007/s00420-009-0492-8

Purpose
To analyze the distribution of depressive, anxiety, and somatization symptoms across different occupational positions in a random sample of Danish residents.
Methods
The study sample consisted of 591 Danish residents (50% women), aged 20–65, drawn from an age- and gender-stratified random sample of the Danish population. Participants filled out a survey that included the 92 item version of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (SCL-92). We categorized occupational position into seven groups: high- and low-grade non-manual workers, skilled and unskilled manual workers, high- and low-grade self-employed, and unemployed.
Results
Compared to the reference group of high-grade non-manual workers, the depressive symptom score was statistically significantly elevated among unskilled manual workers (
P
 = 0.043) and the unemployed (
P
 < 0.001), after adjustment for age, gender, cohabitation, life events, and low household income. The anxiety symptom score was elevated only among the unemployed (
P
 = 0.004). The somatization symptom score was elevated among unskilled manual workers (
P
 = 0.002), the low-grade self-employed (
P
 = 0.023), and the unemployed (
P
 = 0.001). When we analyzed caseness of severe symptoms, we found that unskilled manual workers (OR = 3.27, 95% CI = 1.06–10.04) and the unemployed (OR = 6.20, 95% CI = 1.98–19.42) had a higher prevalence of severe depressive symptoms, compared to the reference group of high-grade non-manual workers. The unemployed also had a higher prevalence of severe somatization symptoms (OR = 6.28, 95% CI = 1.39–28.46).
Conclusions
Unskilled manual workers, the unemployed, and, to a lesser extent, the low-grade self-employed showed an increased level of mental distress. Activities to promote mental health in the Danish population should be directed toward these groups.