Citation

Duchaine CS, Ndjaboué R, Levesque M, Vézina M, Trudel X, Gilbert-Ouimet M, Dionne CE, Masse B, Pearce N, Brisson C. BMC Public Health 2017; 17(1): e91.

Affiliation

Social and preventive medicine department, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, 1050 avenue de la Médecine, Quebec city, G1V 0A6, QC, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group - BMC)

DOI

10.1186/s12889-017-4014-4

PMID

28100221

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Mental health problems (MHP) are the leading cause of disability worldwide. The inverse association between socioeconomic position (SEP) and MHP has been well documented. There is prospective evidence that factors from the work environment, including adverse psychosocial work factors, could contribute to the development of MHP including psychological distress. However, the contribution of psychosocial work factors to social inequalities in MHP remains unclear. This study evaluates the contribution of psychosocial work factors from two highly supported models, the Demand-Control-Support (DCS) and the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) models to SEP inequalities of psychological distress in men and women from a population-based sample of Quebec workers.

METHODS: Data were collected during a survey on working conditions, health and safety at work. SEP was evaluated using education, occupation and household income. Psychosocial work factors and psychological distress were assessed using validated instruments. Mean differences (MD) in the score of psychological distress were estimated separately for men and women.

RESULTS: Low education level and low household income were associated with psychological distress among men (MD, 0.56 (95% CI 0.06; 1.05) and 1.26 (95% CI 0.79; 1.73) respectively). In men, the contribution of psychosocial work factors from the DCS and the ERI models to the association between household income and psychological distress ranged from 9% to 24%. No clear inequalities were observed among women.

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that psychosocial work factors from the DCS and the ERI models contribute to explain a part of social inequalities in psychological distress among men. Psychosocial factors at work are frequent and modifiable. The present study supports the relevance of targeting these factors for the primary prevention of MHP and for health policies aiming to reduce social inequalities in mental health.

Language: en

Keywords

Effort-reward imbalance; Job strain; Mental health problems; Psychological distress; Social inequalities