TY - JOUR
AU1 - Kawada, Tomoyuki
AB - Dear Sir, Kim et al. investigated the relationship between temporary work and depressive symptoms [1]. The authors classified workers into day labourers, fixed-term workers and permanent workers. The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D) 11-item version was used to assess depressive state. Compared with day labourers, the mean values of CES-D 11 scores in permanent and fixed-term workers were significantly lower. I have some concerns about their study. First, Hämmig and Bauer conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate the association between working conditions and health status [2]; psychosocial working conditions, such as work–life conflict, showed a significant association with physical and mental health. Fan et al. also reported the association between stress and mental illness [3]; job insecurity was significantly associated with scales scores of the Beck Depression Inventory-II and the Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory. Temporary work was closely associated with depressive symptoms in these studies, which was in concordance with data by Kim et al. Second, Jang et al. reported a prospective study to understand the effect of temporary work on new-onset severe depressive symptoms [4]. They used CES-D 11-item version and adopted a generalized estimating equation. Odds ratios of temporary work for the new-onset severe depressive symptoms were significant (1.52 (1.02–2.25) in men and 4.19 (1.70–10.32) in women). In addition, the transition from permanent work to another employment status was significantly associated with the new-onset severe depressive symptoms among both sexes, with an especially strong association among females. Given the sex difference in odds ratio, the association between temporary work and subsequent depressive symptoms should be studied further. Finally, temporary work is also associated with psychological distress, especially in men and unmarried women [5]. Taken together, comprehensive study is needed to determine the causal association between employment status and depressive symptoms. References 1. Kim W , Kim TH , Lee TH , Ju YJ , Chun SY , Park EC . Temporary work and depressive symptoms in South Korean workers . Occup Med (Lond) 2017 ; 67 : 421 – 424 . Google Scholar CrossRef Search ADS PubMed 2. Hämmig O , Bauer GF . Work, work-life conflict and health in an industrial work environment . Occup Med (Lond) 2014 ; 64 : 34 – 38 . Google Scholar CrossRef Search ADS PubMed 3. Fan LB , Blumenthal JA , Watkins LL , Sherwood A . Work and home stress: associations with anxiety and depression symptoms . Occup Med (Lond) 2015 ; 65 : 110 – 116 . Google Scholar CrossRef Search ADS PubMed 4. Jang SY , Jang SI , Bae HC , Shin J , Park EC . Precarious employment and new-onset severe depressive symptoms: a population-based prospective study in South Korea . Scand J Work Environ Health 2015 ; 41 : 329 – 337 . Google Scholar CrossRef Search ADS PubMed 5. Kachi Y , Otsuka T , Kawada T . Precarious employment and the risk of serious psychological distress: a population-based cohort study in Japan . Scand J Work Environ Health 2014 ; 40 : 465 – 472 . Google Scholar CrossRef Search ADS PubMed © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/about_us/legal/notices)
TI - Temporary work and depressive symptoms
JF - Occupational Medicine
DO - 10.1093/occmed/kqy048
DA - 2018-05-23
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/temporary-work-and-depressive-symptoms-bzGebmuLa0
SP - 1
EP - 290
VL - Advance Article
IS - 4
DP - DeepDyve