Depression status and associated factors in Chinese occupational truck drivers

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the depression status and associated factors in occupational truck drivers. Four hundred and forty-one male occupational truck drivers were recruited from transport companies. The self-rating depression scale (SDS) and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-R Short Scale were used to measure the depression status and factors associated with it for occupational truck drivers. The observed SDS of (mean ± SD) 52.91 ± 11.41 was significantly higher than the average national score (41.99 ± 10.57). There were 237 cases of depression, making the incidence of 53.74%: 116 (26.30%) patients had mild depression, 104 (23.58%) moderate depression, and 17 (3.85%) severe depression. Drivers with <1 year of experience had the highest SDS score; their score was significantly (p < 0.05) different from the one in more experienced drivers. Furthermore, the SDS score in drivers with high school education was significantly higher than in drivers with secondary education (53.41 ± 11.67 vs. 50.62 ± 11.77, respectively; p < 0.05). SDS scores positively correlated with extroversion and neuroticism, and negatively correlated with psychoticism. In conclusion, depression is present in professional drivers, especially those with <1 year of driving experience. The level of depression is associated with driving experience, education status and personality. Based on this study, we propose to establish psychological health profiles for each professional driver, and to provide psychological counseling to them, especially drivers with <1 year of experience.