Pilot Study of Depression and Occupational Injury

While searching for studies related to depression and workplace injury I discovered the following pilot study which I found interesting. This is one of the few studies I’ve been able to find on the topic.
Objective: Even mild clinical depression can cause decreased vigilance, attention span, increased irritability, and insomnia-all well-known precursors to occupational injury. This pilot project explores the relationship between occupational injury and depression.
Method: One hundred twenty-one individuals with recent work-related injuries and 140 without work-related injuries completed a self-administered depression screening instrument (PHQ-9). We compared the two groups using bivariate analyses. The impact of depression on injury was examined using logistic regression analysis controlling for employment history, marital status, age, and sex.
Results: Overall, injured workers in this study were not more likely to be depressed than a comparison group of uninjured workers. However, injured women had significantly higher depression scores than noninjured women (P = 0.04); no such difference was found for men.
Conclusions: These data suggest that depression may serve as a precursor to occupational injury for women.
Peele, PB, Tollerud, DJ.(2005).Depression and Occupational Injury: Results of a Pilot Investigation. Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine. 47(4): 424-427.

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