Effects of precarious work on symptomatology of anxiety and depression in Chilean workers, a cross sectional study

BMC Public Health

Margaret Quinn¹  David Kriebel²  Manuel Cifuentes³  Gonzalo Lopez⁴ 

[1] Department of Public Health, University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Avenue, 01854, Lowell, MA, USA;Department of Public Health, University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Avenue, 01854, Lowell, MA, USA;Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, One University Avenue, 01854, Lowell, MA, USA;Public Health Program, Regis College, 235 Wellesley street, 02493, Weston, MA, USA;Work Environment Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Massachusetts, One University Avenue, 01854, Lowell, MA, USA;Mariana de Osorio sin numero, Olmue, Region de Valparaiso, Chile;

关键词: Precarious work;    Anxiety;    Depression;    Neoliberalism;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-021-10952-0

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPrecarious work is a broad definition for non-standard employment, often including unstable and insecure positions where workers permanently experience uncertainty; these types of jobs are growing steadily around the planet. Since the coup d’état in 1973, Chile has experienced a series of structural economic changes framed by neoliberal ideas cemented in the “Constitution of Pinochet.” Precarious work in Chile is a direct consequence of these ideas. This multidimensional phenomenon has progressively been entering employment areas where it was not previously present. As a result, there has been a rise in work precarization and its full impact on health is not well known. The goal of this study was to estimate the association of work precariousness with mental health outcomes in Chilean workers.MethodsData were obtained from the Chilean Survey of Work and Health 2009–2010 (ENETS). Only valid records of salaried workers (excluding hourly-only or commission-only workers) in the private sector without missing values were included (n = 1900). After applying appropriate sampling weights, 1,461,727 workers were represented. Mental health was estimated as anxiety/depression levels using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). A multilevel multivariate generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) with negative binomial and log link distribution was used to study the association between precariousness and depression/anxiety.ResultsLooking at the overall precariousness scale (range from zero to four), we observed an increase of approximately 34% in the depression/anxiety score (scale range from 0 to 36) for every unit on the precarious work overall scale (Relative Risk = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.28, 1.42) controlling for age, sex, and occupational group.ConclusionPrecarious work was associated with anxiety and depression as measured with the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. Controlling for demographic variables changed neither the direction nor the magnitude of the association.

【 授权许可】

CC BY