Factors affecting depression in workplace: Marital status, BMI, stress level, work duration, job pattern, and daytime sleepiness

Abstract

Background : It has been reported that Thai people have high prevalence of depression in workplace. Its impact is highest on individual-level effect of work performance. Employers who identify the risk factors and promote effective treatment may improve both the clinical and corporate outcomes.

Objective : To determine risk factors of personnel’s depression of the Faculty of Medicine of Srinakharinwirot University, consisted of career group, gender, age group, marital status, underlying disease, BMI, work time, work duration, sleep duration, excessive daytime sleepiness, job pattern, and stress level.

Design : Cross-sectional study

Material and Method : Staff and officers of the Faculty of Medicine, Srinakharinwirot University were recruited by sampling. The sample size was 740 or 65% of the entire faculty. The questionnaires were composed of general demographic data and self-report problems in workplace, the diagnostic screening test for depression in Thai population from the Ministry of Public Health, Suanprung Stress Test from Suanprung Hospital in Thailand, and Epworth sleepiness scale. The data were collected from May to July, 2009. Categorical variables were analyzed using the Chi-square test. The author identified significant explanatory variables through bivariate analysis between depression and other factors then multivariate analysis by logistic regressions. A two-tailed p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significantly.

Results : The prevalence of depression was 18.7%. The logistic regression demonstrates the odds ratio of married status = 1.92(95%CI = 1.17-3.15) to single status: nurses = 1.86(95%CI = 1.12-3.10) to doctors: high to severe stress = 22.5(95%CI = 5.39-93.99) to low to moderate stress, and work above 3 years = 0.57(95%CI = 0.34-0.95) to work within 3 years.

Conclusion : The depression in the workplace is related to career, marital status, high to severe stress, and work duration within the first 3 years. The employer should improve welfare adequate to the employee’s need and make the informational support network for their personnel in order to allow them to gain maturity in their career path which includes the care of their family life.