Beware! Stressful job may cause depression
Thursday, 02 August 2007, 19:30 IST
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London: Young adults who do stressful job may face the risk of depression and anxiety, according to a British study. Researchers, studying behaviour of 1,000 people aged 32, found that 45 percent of new cases of depression and anxiety were attributable to stressful work. The respondents included an actress, a brain surgeon, a teacher, a helicopter pilot, a dustbin man, a journalist and a policeman. They were asked whether they had workload and time pressures, had to work longer hours than they would like, had too much work to do everything well, whether their job was hectic, if they were often unclear about what they had to do and they had to work too hard. It was found that 10 percent of men and 14 percent of women in the study suffered a first episode of depression or anxiety over the yearlong study. But the risk was double in those with the highest-pressure jobs. They defined a highly demanding job as involving a lack of control, long hours, non-negotiable deadlines, and a high volume of work. Those taking part in the study were at an age where they were settling into their careers and are less likely to have opted out of less stressful jobs, says Maria Melchior, epidemiologist at the Institute of Psychiatry Kings College London. The study, which appeared in international journal 'Psychological Medicine' looked at these people who had taken part in a major, long-term study being carried out in Dunedin, New Zealand, to follow their progress through life, reported the online edition of BBC News. Experts said employers needed to do more to protect workers' mental health. Depression is a mental disorder marked by altered mood. This may occur daily with the addition of diminished interest or pleasure in most or all activities, said British scientists. Poor appetite or weight loss, or weight gain, insomnia or hypersomnia, feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, difficulties with concentration and thinking, and recurrent thoughts of death or suicidal ideas are some of the symptoms of depression. Anxiety is an uncomfortable emotional state in which one perceives danger, feels powerless and experiences tension in preparation for an expected danger. Physical symptoms include increased heart rate, irregular breathing, trembling, and sweating.
Source: IANS
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