Return to Work After Depression-Related Absence by Employees With and Without Other Health Conditions

A Cohort Study

Bibliographic Data

ID19307742
AuthorsJenni Ervasti (0000-0001-9113-2428, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, corresponding author), Jussi Vahtera (0000-0002-6036-061X), Jaana Pentti, Tuula Oksanen (0000-0002-0004-1035), Kirsi Ahola (0000-0002-1662-5991), Teija Kivekäs, Mika Kivimäki (0000-0002-4699-5627), Marianna Virtanen (0000-0001-8361-3301)
Year2015
Volume77
Issue2
Pages126-135
Publication date2015-02-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychosomatic Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-3174 • E-ISSN: 1534-7796
PublisherOvid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1097/psy.0000000000000138
PMID25675157
OpenAlexW2033896213
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited53

OBJECTIVE: Among employees with depression, diagnoses of other psychiatric and somatic conditions are common. However, few studies have examined whether the combined presence of depression and other psychiatric or somatic disorders adversely affects return to work after depression-related absence from work. METHODS: We examined the association of present and recent psychiatric and somatic conditions and return to work after depression-related absence in a cohort of 9908 Finnish public sector employees with at least one such episode. The data included a total of 14,101 episodes during the period January 2005 to December 2011. RESULTS: A total of 89% (n = 12,486) of depression-related absence episodes ended in return to work during the follow-up. For those episodes, the median length of absence was 34 days (interquartile range, 20-69 days). After adjustment for sex, age, socioeconomic status, and type of employment contract, present or recent psychiatric disorders other than depression (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.74-0.83), cancer (HR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.47-0.92), diabetes (HR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.62-0.86), cardiovascular disease (HR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.62-0.99), hypertension (HR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.67-0.85), musculoskeletal disorders (HR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.77-0.87), and asthma (HR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.75-0.94) were all associated with a lower likelihood of returning to work compared with depression episodes without other conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Among employees with depression-related absence, return to work is delayed in the presence of other psychiatric and somatic conditions. These findings suggest that other diseases should be taken into account when evaluating the outcome of depression-related absence. Randomized controlled trials are needed to examine whether integrated treatment of mental and physical disorders improves successful return to work after depression

Depression (economics) · Economics · Work (physics) · Cardiac Health and Mental Health · Clinical Psychology · Employment and Welfare Studies · Engineering · Psychology · Workplace Health and Well-being

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