Stress and depression in the employed population

Abstract

Objectives: This article describes stress levels among the employed population aged 18 to 75 and examines associations between stress and depression.

Data sources: Data are from the 2002 Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-being and the longitudinal component of the 1994/95 through 2002/03 National Population Health Survey.

Analytical techniques: Stress levels were calculated by sex, age and employment characteristics. Multivariate analyses were used to examine associations between stress and depression in 2002, and between stress and incident depression over a two-year period, while controlling for age, employment characteristics, and factors originating outside the workplace.

Main results: In 2002, women reported higher levels of job strain and general day-to-day stress. When the various sources of stress were considered simultaneously, along with other possible confounders, for both sexes, high levels of general day-to-day stress and low levels of co-worker support were associated with higher odds of depression, as was high job strain for men. Over a two-year period, men with high strain jobs and women with high personal stress and low co-worker support had elevated odds of incident depression.