Diagnoses of common mental disorders among social workers in Sweden : A register-based cohort study

• Background:Little is known about common mental disorders (CMD) diagnoses among social workers, i.e., depression, anxiety, or stress-related disorders. This study aims to examine the risk of CMD among social workers in comparison to other workers and to further investigate differences between men and women and specific occupational titles.Methods:This register-based cohort study consists of 3,034,304 persons, of which 26,610 were social workers (0.9 % of all workers), aged 30 -64 years, living in Sweden in 2015. The risk of diagnosed CMDs was followed up until 2020. Cox regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI), adjusting for sex, birth country, education, and birth year.Results:The participants were followed up by a total of 16,833,742.9 person-years, with an average follow-up of 5.5 years. Social workers, compared to other workers, were at a higher risk of CMD (HR 1.3, 95 % CI 1.2 -1.4) after adjustment. The HR was equal, 1.3, for depression (95 % CI 1.2 -1.5) and anxiety or stress-related disorder (95 % CI 1.2 -1.4). The association between social work and CMD was stronger among men (HR 1.7, 95 % CI 1.6 -1.9) compared to women (HR 1.2, 95 % CI 1.1 -1.3). Further, men working as assistance analysts had the highest risk among the occupational categories (HR 2.2, 95 % CI 1.2 -3.9).Limitations:CMD diagnoses only included cases treated in secondary care.Conclusions:Social workers, especially male social workers, had a higher risk of CMD. This deserves attention for future research and interventions aimed at improving the mental health of social workers.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Arbetsmedicin och miljömedicin (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Occupational Health and Environmental Health (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Psykiatri (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Psychiatry (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Depressive disorders

Anxiety disorders

Trauma and stress-related disorders

Social workers

Occupational health

Cohort

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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