Citation

Peele PB, Tollerud DJ. J. Occup. Environ. Med. 2005; 47(4): 424-427.

Affiliation

Management, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

15824634

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:: Even mild clinical depression can cause decreased vigilance, attention span, increased irritability, and insomnia-all well-known precursors to occupational injury. This pilot project explores the relationship between occupational injury and depression. METHOD:: One hundred twenty-one individuals with recent work-related injuries and 140 without work-related injuries completed a self-administered depression screening instrument (PHQ-9). We compared the two groups using bivariate analyses. The impact of depression on injury was examined using logistic regression analysis controlling for employment history, marital status, age, and sex. RESULTS:: Overall, injured workers in this study were not more likely to be depressed than a comparison group of uninjured workers. However, injured women had significantly higher depression scores than noninjured women (P = 0.04); no such difference was found for men. CONCLUSIONS:: These data suggest that depression may serve as a precursor to occupational injury for women.