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. METHODS: We used a cross-sectional (n = 4041) and a prospective (n = 2444) population from a longitudinal study on employees of the Danish eldercare sector. Depressive symptoms were measured by the Major Depression Inventory and the impact of different levels of depressive symptoms (severe, moderately severe, moderate, mild and none) and changes in depressive symptoms (worsened, improved, unaffected) on early retirement intentions were analysed with multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: In the cross-sectional analysis all levels of depressive symptoms were significantly associated with retirement intentions before the age of 62 years. Similar associations were found prospectively. Depressive symptoms and worsened depressive symptoms in the two year period from baseline to follow-up were also significantly associated with early retirement intentions before age 62. The prospective associations lost statistical significance when controlling for early retirement intentions at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: The whole spectrum of depressive symptoms represents a health related strain that can incur intentions to retire early by early voluntary retirement. In order to change the intentions to retire early, the work related consequences of depressive symptoms should be addressed as early in the treatment process as possible.

Is objectively measured sitting time associated with low back pain? A cross-sectional investigation in the NOMAD study.

BACKGROUND: Studies on the association between sitting time and low back pain (LBP) have found contrasting results. This may be due to the lack of objectively measured sitting time or because socioeconomic confounders were not considered in the analysis. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between objectively measured sitting time (daily total, and occupational and leisure-time periods) and LBP among blue-collar workers. METHODS: Two-hundred-and-one blue-collar workers wore two accelerometers (GT3X+ Actigraph) for up to four consecutive working days to obtain objective measures of sitting time, estimated via Acti4 software. Workers reported their LBP intensity the past month on a scale from 0 (no pain) to 9 (worst imaginable pain) and were categorized into either low (≤ 5) or high (> 5) LBP intensity groups. In the multivariate-adjusted binary logistic regression analysis, total sitting time, and occupational and leisure-time sitting were both modeled as continuous (hours/day) and categorical variables (i.e. low, moderate and high sitting time). RESULTS: The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed a significant positive association between total sitting time (per hour) and high LBP intensity (odds ratio; OR = 1.43, 95%CI = 1.15-1.77, P = 0.01). Similar results were obtained for leisure-time sitting (OR = 1.45, 95%CI = 1.10-1.91, P = 0.01), and a similar but non-significant trend was obtained for occupational sitting time (OR = 1.34, 95%CI 0.99-1.82, P = 0.06). In the analysis on categorized sitting time, high sitting time was positively associated with high LBP for total (OR = 3.31, 95%CI = 1.18-9.28, P = 0.03), leisure (OR = 5.31, 95%CI = 1.57-17.90, P = 0.01), and occupational (OR = 3.26, 95%CI = 0.89-11.98, P = 0.08) periods, referencing those with low sitting time. CONCLUSION: Sitting time is positively associated with LBP intensity among blue-collar workers. Future studies using a prospective design with objective measures of sitting time are recommended.

Do colleagues influence our lifestyle: the matter of smoking, body mass index and leisure-time physical activity?

OBJECTIVE: Previous research has indicated that health behaviours tend to cluster in social networks, but few have studied the cluster effect in workgroups. We examined the effect of workgroups on current state and change in three indicators of health behaviours (smoking, body mass index (BMI) and physical activity). Further, we examined whether health behaviours of the respondents at group level predicted lifestyle changes. METHODS: In a prospective cohort (n=4730), employees from 250 workgroups in the Danish eldercare sector answered questionnaires at baseline (2005) and follow-up (2006). Multilevel regression models were used to examine the effect of workgroups. RESULTS: Workgroups accounted for 6.49% of the variation in smoking status, 6.56% of amount smoked and 2.62% of the variation in current BMI. We found no significant workgroup clustering in physical activity or lifestyle changes. Furthermore, changes in smoking status (cessation) and weight gain were seen in workgroups with high percentage of smokers and high levels of BMI. CONCLUSION: We found modest evidence for clustering of some health behaviours within workgroups, which could be due to social learning or selection into and out of workgroups. Future health promotion programmes at worksites should recognize the potential clustering of lifestyle behaviours within workgroups.

Face validity of the single work ability item: comparison with objectively measured heart rate reserve over several days.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the face validity of the self-reported single item work ability with objectively measured heart rate reserve (%HRR) among blue-collar workers. METHODS: We utilized data from 127 blue-collar workers (Female = 53; Male = 74) aged 18-65 years from the cross-sectional "New method for Objective Measurements of physical Activity in Daily living (NOMAD)" study. The workers reported their single item work ability and completed an aerobic capacity cycling test and objective measurements of heart rate reserve monitored with Actiheart for 3-4 days with a total of 5,810 h, including 2,640 working hours. RESULTS: A significant moderate correlation between work ability and %HRR was observed among males (R = -0.33, P = 0.005), but not among females (R = 0.11, P = 0.431). In a gender-stratified multi-adjusted logistic regression analysis, males with high %HRR were more likely to report a reduced work ability compared to males with low %HRR [OR = 4.75, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.31 to 17.25]. However, this association was not found among females (OR = 0.26, 95% CI 0.03 to 2.16), and a significant interaction between work ability, %HRR and gender was observed (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: The observed association between work ability and objectively measured %HRR over several days among male blue-collar workers supports the face validity of the single work ability item. It is a useful and valid measure of the relation between physical work demands and resources among male blue-collar workers. The contrasting association among females needs to be further investigated.

Does psychological well-being mediate the association between experiences of acts of offensive behaviour and turnover among care workers? A longitudinal analysis.

AIM: To investigate whether the psychological well-being of care workers in the Danish eldercare services mediated the association between experiences of acts of offensive behaviour and actual turnover. BACKGROUND: Research suggests that experiences of acts of offensive behaviour are associated with risk of turnover. However, little is known about the longitudinal associations between experiences of different types of offensive behaviour (threats, violence, bullying, and unwanted sexual attention) and risk of actual turnover. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study. METHODS: The study was conducted among employees in the eldercare services in Denmark. Employees aged 55 or more and non-care staff were excluded from the study. Employees who were working in eldercare at baseline (2005) and no longer worked in eldercare at follow-up (2006) were interviewed through questionnaires. Respondents to this questionnaire were coded as cases of turnover (N = 608) and were compared with employees who had not changed jobs during follow-up (N = 4330). Data on experiences of acts of offensive behaviour and well-being were measured at baseline. Data were analysed using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Frequent and occasional experiences of bullying and threats and occasional experiences of unwanted sexual attention at baseline entailed a significantly increased risk of turnover at follow-up. Further analyses showed that psychological well-being significantly reduced the risk of turnover and that well-being partially mediated the association between bullying and turnover and fully mediated the association between threats, unwanted sexual attention, and turnover. CONCLUSION: Prevention of threats, unwanted sexual attention and - especially - bullying may contribute towards improving well-being and reducing turnover among eldercare staff.

The greatest risk for low-back pain among newly educated female health care workers; body weight or physical work load?

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) represents a major socioeconomic burden for the Western societies. Both life-style and work-related factors may cause low back pain. Prospective cohort studies assessing risk factors among individuals without prior history of low back pain are lacking. This aim of this study was to determine risk factors for developing low back pain (LBP) among health care workers. METHODS: Prospective cohort study with 2,235 newly educated female health care workers without prior history of LBP. Risk factors and incidence of LBP were assessed at one and two years after graduation. RESULTS: Multinomial logistic regression analyses adjusted for age, smoking, and psychosocial factors showed that workers with high physical work load had higher risk for developing LBP than workers with low physical work load (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.1-2.8). In contrast, workers with high BMI were not at a higher risk for developing LBP than workers with a normal BMI. CONCLUSION: Preventive initiatives for LBP among health care workers ought to focus on reducing high physical work loads rather than lowering excessive body weight.

Implementation of self-rostering (the PRIO-project): effects on working hours, recovery, and health.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to (i) investigate the consequences of self-rostering for working hours, recovery, and health, and (ii) elucidate the mechanisms through which recovery and health are affected. METHODS: Twenty eight workplaces were allocated to either an intervention or reference group. Intervention A encompassed the possibility to specify preferences for starting time and length of shift down to 15 minutes intervals. Interventions B and C included the opportunity to choose between a number of predefined duties. Questionnaires (N=840) on recovery and health and objective workplace reports of working hours (N=718) were obtained at baseline and 12 months later. The interaction term between intervention and time was tested in mixed models and multinomial logistic regression models. RESULTS: The odds ratio (OR) of having short [OR 4.8, 95 % confidence interval (95% CI) 1.9-12.3] and long (OR 4.8, 95% CI 2.9-8.0) shifts increased in intervention A. Somatic symptoms (ß= -0.10, 95% CI -0.19- -0.02) and mental distress (ß= -0.13, 95% CI -0.23- -0.03) decreased, and sleep (ß= 1.7, 95% CI 0.04-0.30) improved in intervention B, and need for recovery was reduced in interventions A (ß= -0.17, 95% CI -0.29- -0.04) and B (ß= -0.17, 95% CI -0.27- -0.07). There were no effects on recovery and health in intervention C, and overall, there were no detrimental effects on recovery or health. The benefits of the intervention were not related to changes in working hours and did not differ by gender, age, family type, degree of employment, or working hour arrangements. CONCLUSIONS: After implementation of self-rostering, employees changed shift length and timing but did not compromise most recommendations for acceptable shift work schedules. Positive consequences of self-rostering for recovery and health were observed, particularly in intervention B where worktime control increased but less extensively than intervention A. The effect could not be statistically explained by changes in actual working hours.

Paid care work and depression: a longitudinal study of antidepressant treatment in female eldercare workers before and after entering their profession.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have reported that employees in paid care work (e.g., child, health, and elderly care) have increased rates of hospitalization with depression and treatment with antidepressants. It is unclear, however, whether these findings reflect a causal effect of the work on employee mental health or a selection into these professions. METHODS: We examined prevalences of antidepressant purchases during 1995-2008 in a cohort of female eldercare workers who entered their profession in 2004 (n = 1,946). These yearly prevalences were compared to those of a representative sample of the female Danish working population (n = 4,201). Trends in antidepressants prevalences were examined using generalized estimation equations. Further, to account for bias by treatment seeking, we compared self-reported depressive symptoms in 2005 measured by the mental health scale from the SF-36. RESULTS: Female eldercare workers had consistently higher prevalence of antidepressant treatment than the general female working population. The eldercare workers were also more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms in 2005 (standardized prevalence ratio = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.09-1.49). Prevalences of antidepressant treatment increased during follow up for both cohorts, with similar estimated odds ratios of about 1.15 per year. The trend in the antidepressant prevalences for the eldercare workers was unchanged by entering eldercare work. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that female eldercare workers are at increased risk of depression. Further, as the trend in the antidepressant prevalences among the eldercare workers was similar before and after entering their profession, the results suggest that this increased risk is due to selection into the profession.

Job demands, job resources and long-term sickness absence in the Danish eldercare services: a prospective analysis of register-based outcomes.

AIM: To investigate associations between psychosocial job demands, job resources and cases of registered long-term sickness absence among nursing staff in the eldercare services. BACKGROUND: Research has shown that psychosocial work environment exposures predict sickness absence in healthcare settings. However, only few studies have longitudinally investigated associations between specific job demands and job resources and risk of long-term sickness absence. METHODS: Questionnaire data were collected in 2004 and 2005 among all employees in the eldercare services in 35 Danish municipalities and were followed in a National register on payment of sickness absence compensation for a 1-year follow-up period (N = 7921). Three psychosocial job demands - emotional demands, quantitative demands and role conflicts - and three job resources - influence, quality of leadership and team climate - were investigated to predict risk of sickness absence for eight or more consecutive weeks in the follow-up period. Data were analysed using Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: A percentage of 6·5 of the respondents were absent for eight or more consecutive weeks during follow-up. The analyses showed that emotional demands, role conflicts, influence, quality of leadership and team climate were significantly associated with risk of long-term sickness absence. In an analysis with mutual adjustment for all job demands and job resources, influence constituted the strongest predictor of long-term sickness absence (negative association). CONCLUSIONS: Job demands and job resources are significantly associated with risk of long-term sickness absence. Interventions aimed at improving the psychosocial work environment may, therefore, contribute towards preventing long-term sickness absence in the eldercare services.

Are immigrants in the nursing industry at increased risk of bullying at work? A one-year follow-up study.

The purpose of this study was to explore whether (a) immigrant health care workers (HCW) are more at risk of bullying at work than Danish staff members, (b) this association is increased by previous exposure to bullying and (c) immigrants experience more bullying from supervisors, colleagues and clients/residents. We analyzed cross-sectional baseline data from 5,635 health care students of whom 10.4% were immigrants, and conducted a prospective analysis by following 3,109 of these respondents during their first year of employment. More than a third of the respondents had previous experiences with bullying. The baseline analyses showed that immigrants are more at risk of being bullied during both their theoretical education and trainee periods than their Danish co-students. At follow-up we found that 9.1% of the total cohort had been exposed to bullying at work during their first year of employment, hereof 1.8% frequently. "Non-Western" immigrants had a significantly higher risk of exposure to bullying at work during follow-up than the Danish respondents independent of previous experience with bullying. Danish and immigrant health care workers were more exposed to bullying from co-workers than from supervisors with no statistically significant difference between the Danes and the immigrant groups. Both "Western" and "non-Western" respondents were more at risk of bullying from clients/residents than the Danish respondents.

Transformational leadership and depressive symptoms: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the association between transformational leadership and depressive symptoms in employees working within healthcare. METHOD: 447 employees completed a baseline survey and 274 completed a follow-up survey 18 months later. 188 completed both baseline and follow-up survey. Transformational leadership was measured using the Global Transformational Leadership Scale and depression was measured using with the Major Depression Inventory. RESULTS: Transformational leadership was negatively associated with depressive symptoms at baseline (beta=-0.31, p<.01, 8% variance) follow-up (beta=- 0.25, p<.01, 3% variance) and prospectively (beta=- 0.21, p<.05, 4% variance). CONCLUSION: Managers with a transformational leadership style may help toward protecting employees from developing major depression.

Health and sickness absence in Denmark: a study of elderly-care immigrant workers.

The objective of this study is to investigate patterns of sickness absence in light of health status among immigrants. Cross-sectional data from 2005 was used and the study population consisted of 3,121 healthcare assistants and healthcare helpers working in the elderly-care sector in Denmark. A multinomial logistic regression was employed to investigate the relationship between health indicator, sickness absence and being an immigrant. Our findings show that, on one hand, immigrants have worse health status, but on the other, they have significantly lower sickness absence than their Danish counterparts, even after factors such as age and gender are controlled for. The results show that the relationship between being an immigrant and sickness absence differs according to health status. Our findings are in line with Steer and Rhode's theoretical framework, according to which attendance to work is a function of ability and motivation to be at work.

Tendências da fecundidade brasileira no século XX: uma visäo regional / Trends in Brazilian fertility in the XXth century: a regional view

Analisa a evoluçäo da fecundidade nas cinco grandes regiöes brasileiras ao longo do século XX e identifica alguns dos determinantes próximos que possam explicar as tendências observadas: casamento, anticoncepçäo, aborto e amamentaçäo. A história descrita inicia-se com o comportamento reprodutivo das mulheres nascidas entre 1890-95 - que viveram a maior parte da sua experiência reprodutiva na segunda década deste século - e se encerra com a experiência reprodutiva de mulheres nascidas entre 1970-1975.(AU)