Depressive symptoms and early retirement intentions among Danish eldercare workers: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses.

Background: Depression increases the risk of disability pension and represents a health related strain that pushes people out of the labour market. Although early voluntary retirement is an important alternative to disability pension, few studies have examined whether depressive symptoms incur early voluntary retirement. This study examined whether depressive symptoms and changes in depressive symptoms over time were associated with early retirement intentions.

Struggling at work--a qualitative study of working Danes with depressive symptoms.

Purpose: Little is known on how employees at work with mental health problems experience their work environment. This study explores how a selected sample of Danish employees with depressive symptoms experience the interaction with their work environment and how they respond to and deal with problems at work.

Methods: From a survey study on work and mental health in Denmark, we invited participants for in-depth interviews.

A multi-wave study of organizational justice at work and long-term sickness absence among employees with depressive symptoms.

Objectives: Mental health problems are strong predictors of long-term sickness absence (LTSA). In this study, we investigated whether organizational justice at work - fairness in resolving conflicts and distributing work - prevents risk of LTSA among employees with depressive symptoms.

Methods: In a longitudinal study with five waves of data collection, we examined a cohort of 1034 employees with depressive symptoms.

The predictive value of mental health for long-term sickness absence: the Major Depression Inventory (MDI) and the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5) compared.

Background: Questionnaires are valuable for population surveys of mental health. Different survey instruments may however give different results. The present study compares two mental health instruments, the Major Depression Inventory (MDI) and the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5), in regard to their prediction of long-term sickness absence.

Do psychosocial working conditions modify the effect of depressive symptoms on long-term sickness absence?

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate whether work unit-levels of psychosocial working conditions modify the effect of depressive symptoms on risk of long-term sickness absence (LTSA).

Methods: A total of 5,416 Danish female eldercare workers from 309 work units were surveyed using questionnaires assessing depressive symptoms and psychosocial working conditions. LTSA was derived from a national register.

To what extent do single symptoms from a depression rating scale predict risk of long-term sickness absence among employees who are free of clinical depression?

Purpose: Depression rating scales have predicted long-term sickness absence (LTSA) in previous studies. With this study, we investigated to what extent single symptoms from a depression rating scale predicted LTSA among employees who were free of clinical depression.

Methods: We studied 6,670 female employees in the Danish eldercare sector.

Bullying at work and onset of a major depressive episode among Danish female eldercare workers.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze whether exposure to workplace bullying among 5701 female employees in the Danish eldercare sector increases the risk of onset of a major depressive episode (MDE).

Methods: Participants received questionnaires in 2004-2005 and again in 2006-2007. MDE was assessed with the Major Depression Inventory.

Clinical and non-clinical depressive symptoms and risk of long-term sickness absence among female employees in the Danish eldercare sector.

Background: Depression has a high point and life time prevalence and is a major cause of reduced work ability and long-term sickness absence (LTSA). Less is known of the extent to which non-clinical depressive symptoms are related to the risk of LTSA. The aim of this study was to investigate how non-clinical and clinical depressive symptoms are prospectively associated to subsequent LTSA.