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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Mood Disorders
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1455122
This article is part of the Research Topic Environmental Risk Factors for Depression: Unveiling Pathways to Resilience and Public Mental Health Equity View all 3 articles

The Protective Role of Employment in Depression: Insights from 2005 to 2018 NHANES information

Provisionally accepted
Fang Li Fang Li *Zheng Chu Zheng Chu
  • Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Depression is closely associated with employment status, which serves as a complex social determinantDepression is intricately linked to employment status, a multifaceted social determinant. This study explores the relationship between employment status and depression. Methods: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning 2005 to 2018 were analyzed. The study included 29,452 participants aged 20 and older with complete data on employment and depression. Logistic regression models were applied to examine the association between employment and depression, adjusting for covariates such as age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, education, family income-to-poverty ratio (PIR)PIR, BMI, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, and alcohol status.Results: The study revealed an overall depression prevalence of 8.61%, with significant variation across employment statuses-non-employed (11.77%), part-time (6.58%), and full-time (4.52%) workers. Employed individuals, particularly those in the 40-59 age group and with lower PIRs, showed reduced odds of depression (OR 0.42, 95% CI: 0.36-0.48, p=0.000). Stratified analyses confirmed lower depression odds for employed individuals regardless of gender or marital status. Limitations: The cross-sectional design precludes causal inferences, and self-reported data might introduce reporting bias. Conclusion: Employment status has a significant impact on depression risk, with fulltime work showing the strongest protective effect against depressive symptoms.Employment status significantly influences depression risk, with full-time work showing the most protective effect. The study underscores the role of sociodemographic factors in depression and highlights the need for policies promoting stable employment and mental health support, especially for economically vulnerable groups.

    Keywords: Depression, Employment, sociodemographic factors, Family Income-to-Poverty Ratio (PIR), NHANES, mental health policy

    Received: 26 Jun 2024; Accepted: 13 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Li and Chu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Fang Li, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.