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Cited by 692Workplace Health and Well-beingEmployment and Welfare StudiesStress and Burnout Research

Work stress precipitates depression and anxiety in young, working women and men

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MELCHIOR, MARIA, CASPI, AVSHALOM, MILNE, BARRY J., DANESE, ANDREA, POULTON, RICHIE, MOFFITT, TERRIE E.·2007·Psychological Medicine
DOI 10.1017/s0033291707000414PMC PMC2062493
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Rates of depression have been rising, as have rates of work stress. We tested the influence of work stress on diagnosed depression and anxiety in young working adults. METHOD: Participants were enrolled in the Dunedin study, a 1972-1973 longitudinal birth cohort assessed most recently in 2004-2005, at age 32 (n=972, 96% of 1015 cohort members still alive). Work stress (psychological job demands, work decision latitude, low work social support, physical work demands) was ascertained by interview. Major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) were ascertained using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) and diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria. RESULTS: Participants exposed to high psychological job demands (excessive workload, extreme time pressures) had a twofold risk of MDD or GAD compared to those with low job demands. Relative risks (RRs) adjusting for all work characteristics were: 1.90 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.22-2.98] in women, and 2.00 (95% CI 1.13-3.56) in men. Analyses ruled out the possibility that the association between work stress and disorder resulted from study members' socio-economic position, a personality tendency to report negatively, or a history of psychiatric disorder prior to labour-market entry. Prospective longitudinal analyses showed that high-demand jobs were associated with the onset of new depression and anxiety disorder in individuals without any pre-job history of diagnosis or treatment for either disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Work stress appears to precipitate diagnosable depression and anxiety in previously healthy young workers. Helping workers cope with work stress or reducing work stress levels could prevent the occurrence of clinically significant depression and anxiety.

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  • Longitudinal data shows that high work stress may lead to depression and anxiety, even in individuals with no previous history of disorder.

    “This is particularly encouraging, as longitudinal data shows that high work stress may lead to depression and anxiety, even in individuals with no previous history of disorder [15].”

    From A pilot evaluation of a smartphone application for workplace depression (2020) · cites this paper as [15]

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Authors
MELCHIOR, M., CASPI, A., MILNE, B. J., DANESE, A., POULTON, R., & MOFFITT, T. E.
Affiliations
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
  • King's College London (GB)
  • University of Otago (NZ)
Corresponding author
MOFFITT, TERRIE E.
ORCID
Venue
Psychological Medicine
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2007-04-04
Volume
37
Issue
8
Pages
1119-1129
ISSN
  • 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-8978
DOI
10.1017/s0033291707000414
PMC
PMC2062493
OpenAlex
W2143082772
Cited by
691
References
50
Citations by year
2026: 33 · 2025: 47 · 2024: 35 · 2023: 45 · 2022: 49 · 2021: 74 · 2020: 46 · 2019: 39 · 2018: 41 · 2017: 27 · 2016: 30 · 2015: 35 · 2014: 33 · 2013: 36 · 2012: 29
FWCI
41.96
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified)
Locations
  • Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Workplace Health and Well-being
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Employment and Welfare Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
Keywords
occupational stress, depression, anxiety, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, psychological job demands, workload, time pressure, physical work demands, young working adults, sex differences, Dunedin birth cohort
MeSH terms
Adult, Anxiety Disorders, Cross-Sectional Studies, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Job Satisfaction, Longitudinal Studies, Male, New Zealand, Occupational Diseases, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Stress, Psychological, Temperament, Cohort Studies, Workload

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