Precarious working conditions and psychosocial work stress act as a risk factor for symptoms of postpartum depression during maternity leave: results from a longitudinal cohort study

Background The majority of Western women work during their reproductive years, but past research has often neglected the influence of work-related factors on postpartum mental health. Especially postpartum depression (PPD) is an enormous psychological burden for mothers. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the prospective impact of precarious working conditions and psychosocial work stress during pregnancy (such as work-privacy conflict and effort-reward imbalance at the job) on symptoms of maternal PPD. Methods In the prospective-longitudinal cohort study DREAM (DResdner Studie zu Elternschaft, Arbeit und Mentaler Gesundheit), N = 587 employed women were questioned about their work during pregnancy and their mental health 8 weeks after delivery. Results Multiple regression analyses revealed that work-privacy conflict, low reward at work, and precarious working conditions significantly predicted symptoms of PPD, even when controlling for lifetime depression, anxiety, education, parity, and age. Conclusion Our results indicate that psychosocial work stress and precarious working conditions have important implications for maternal peripartum mental health. They might act as prospective risk factors for PPD during the period of maternal leave. Hence, future research should focus on preventative measures targeting work life.

Precarious working conditions and psychosocial work stress act as a risk factor for symptoms of postpartum depression during maternity leave: results from a longitudinal cohort study

Background: The majority of Western women work during their reproductive years, but past research has often neglected the influence of work-related factors on postpartum mental health. Especially postpartum depression (PPD) is an enormous psychological burden for mothers. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the prospective impact of precarious working conditions and psychosocial work stress during pregnancy (such as work-privacy conflict and effort-reward imbalance at the job) on symptoms of maternal PPD.Methods: In the prospective-longitudinal cohort study DREAM (DResdner Studie zu Elternschaft, Arbeit und Mentaler Gesundheit), N = 587 employed women were questioned about their work during pregnancy and their mental health 8 weeks after delivery.Results: Multiple regression analyses revealed that work-privacy conflict, low reward at work, and precarious working conditions significantly predicted symptoms of PPD, even when controlling for lifetime depression, anxiety, education, parity, and age.Conclusion: Our results indicate that psychosocial work stress and precarious working conditions have important implications for maternal peripartum mental health. They might act as prospective risk factors for PPD during the period of maternal leave. Hence, future research should focus on preventative measures targeting work life.

Precarious working conditions and psychosocial work stress act as a risk factor for symptoms of postpartum depression during maternity leave: results from a longitudinal cohort study

Introduction: Most Western women work during their reproductive years, but past research has often neglected the influence of work-related factors on postpartum health. Especially postpartum depression (PPD) puts an enormous psychological burden on mothers. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the prospective impact of precarious working conditions and psychosocial work stress (such as work-privacy conflict and effort-reward imbalance at the job) during pregnancy on symptoms of maternal PPD. Methods: In the prospective-longitudinal cohort study DREAM ( DR esdner Studie zu E lternschaft, A rbeit und M entaler Gesundheit), N = 587 employed women were questioned about their work during pregnancy and mental health 8 weeks after delivery. Results: Multiple regression analyses revealed that work-privacy conflict, low reward at work, and precarious working conditions significantly predicted symptoms of PPD, even when controlling for lifetime depression, anxiety, education, parity, and age. Conclusion: Our results indicate that psychosocial work stress and precarious working conditions have important implications for maternal peripartum mental health and might act as prospective risk factors for PPD even during the period of maternal leave. Hence, preventative measures targeting work life need to be investigated in more detail.

Precarious working conditions and psychosocial work stress act as a risk factor for symptoms of postpartum depression during maternity leave: results from a longitudinal cohort study

Introduction: Most Western women work during their reproductive years, but past research has often neglected the influence of work-related factors on postpartum health. Especially postpartum depression (PPD) puts an enormous psychological burden on mothers. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the prospective impact of precarious working conditions and psychosocial work stress (such as work-privacy conflict and effort-reward imbalance at the job) during pregnancy on symptoms of maternal PPD. Methods: In the prospective-longitudinal cohort study DREAM (DResdner Studie zu Elternschaft, Arbeit und Mentaler Gesundheit), N = 587 employed women were questioned about their work during pregnancy and mental health 8 weeks after delivery. Results: Multiple regression analyses revealed that work-privacy conflict, low reward at work, and precarious working conditions significantly predicted symptoms of PPD, even when controlling for lifetime depression, anxiety, education, parity, and age. Conclusion: Our results indicate that psychosocial work stress and precarious working conditions have important implications for maternal peripartum mental health and might act as prospective risk factors for PPD even during the period of maternal leave. Hence, preventative measures targeting work life need to be investigated in more detail.

Reciprocal relationship between psychosocial work stress and quality of life: the role of gender and education from the longitudinal study of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe

ObjectiveTo investigate the reciprocal relationship between psychosocial work stress and quality of life (QoL) and to examine whether the relationship can be moderated by gender or education.DesignLongitudinal, population-based study.SettingThe Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE).ParticipantsThe study population was derived from the SHARE, and there were 2006 participants with good QoL at baseline, 1109 with high job control and 1072 with high job reward, respectively, who were followed up for 2 years to detect incidence of poor QoL, low job control and low job reward.Main outcome measuresLogistic regression models were employed to explore the reciprocal relationship between psychological work stress and QoL. Stratification analyses by gender and education were performed.ResultsParticipants with low reward (OR=1.53, 95% CI 1.26 to 1.88) and low control (OR=1.40, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.71) at baseline were at higher risk of poor QoL over the 2-year follow-up. The combination of low reward and low control further increased the risk (OR=1.90, 95% CI 1.46 to 2.48). Stratified analyses revealed that these associations were more pronounced among those who had high levels of education. Further, individuals with poor QoL were at significantly higher risk of having low reward (OR=2.14, 95% CI 1.55 to 2.96) but not low control (OR=1.33, 95% CI0.98 to 1.79) at the 2-year follow-up, especially among those who had medium levels of education. No gender differences were found.ConclusionsThere is a reciprocal relationship between psychological work stress and poor QoL. Education may play an important role in the relationship.

Relationship between stress-related psychosocial work factors and suboptimal health among Chinese medical staff: a cross-sectional study

ObjectivesThe study aimed to develop and validate a model to measure psychosocial factors at work among medical staff in China based on confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The second aim of the current study was to clarify the association between stress-related psychosocial work factors and suboptimal health status.DesignThe cross-sectional study was conducted using clustered sampling method.SettingXuanwu Hospital, a 3A grade hospital in Beijing.ParticipantsNine hundred and fourteen medical staff aged over 40 years were sampled. Seven hundred and ninety-seven valid questionnaires were collected and used for further analyses. The sample included 94% of the Han population.Main outcome measuresThe Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) and the Suboptimal Health Status Questionnaires-25 were used to assess the psychosocial factors at work and suboptimal health status, respectively. CFA was conducted to establish the evaluating method of COPSOQ. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to estimate the relationship between suboptimal health status and stress-related psychosocial work factors among Chinese medical staff.ResultsThere was a strong correlation among the five dimensions of COPSOQ based on the first-order factor model. Then, we established two second-order factors including negative and positive psychosocial work stress factors to evaluate psychosocial factors at work, and the second-order factor model fit well. The high score in negative (OR (95% CI)=1.47 (1.34 to 1.62), P<0.001) and positive (OR (95% CI)=0.96 (0.94 to 0.98), P<0.001) psychosocial work factors increased and decreased the risk of suboptimal health, respectively. This relationship remained statistically significant after adjusting for confounders and when using different cut-offs of suboptimal health status.ConclusionsAmong medical staff, the second-order factor model was a suitable method to evaluate the COPSOQ. The negative and positive psychosocial work stress factors might be the risk and protective factors of suboptimal health, respectively. Moreover, negative psychosocial work stress was the most associated factor to predict suboptimal health.