Mood and anxiety disorders, the association with presenteeism in employed members of a general population sample

Abstract

Aims: The term "presenteeism" is used to describe workers who are present in the workforce, but who are not functioning at full capacity. The objective of the study was to describe the impact of mood and anxiety disorders on presenteeism in a population sample.

Methods: Random digit dialing was used to select a sample of n=3345 subjects between the ages of 18 and 64. A computer assisted telephone interview that included the Mini Neuropsychiatric Diagnostic Interview (MINI), the Stanford Presenteeism Scale 6 (SPS-6) and a pharmacoepidemiology module was administered.

Results: Among subjects with comorbid mood and anxiety disorders 75.0% reported interference with their work compared with only 13.3% of subjects without mood or anxiety disorders. Mood and anxiety disorders were associated with lower presenteeism ratings. Regression analysis uncovered a significant gender by anxiety disorder interaction, indicating that the effect of anxiety disorders was greater in men than women.

Conclusions: This is the first study to report the impact of mental disorders on presenteeism in a general population sample. The results confirm that the problem of presenteeism is not restricted to specific occupational groups, but is instead a widespread problem in the general population.