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Association between solvent exposure and depression among industrial workers

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Abstract

Aim

Chemical-related disorders put a great burden on the economy and the health care system. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms based on the Beck depression inventory (BDI) in the workers of an industrial factory and find its association with solvent exposure.

Subject and methods

In this cross-sectional study, all workers at an industrial factory were enrolled. Demographic and clinical data of the participants were collected by a trained interviewer and entered in the study form. All the participants completed the Beck depression inventory questionnaire. Based on the score of the BDI, the study population was dichotomized around the score 11 and the study variables, particularly exposure to solvents, were compared between the two groups. The association of solvent exposure and BDI score > 11 was then assessed in an adjusted multivariable model.

Results

A total of 396 workers were enrolled in this study (mean age = 33.4 ± 7.2 years); 156 (39.4%) workers had BDI ≥ 11. Participants with BDI score ≥ 11 were significantly older than their peers with BDI < 11 (P < 0.001) and had a significantly higher work experience (P < 0.001). In the logistic regression model and after adjustment for confounding variables, there was a significant association between solvent exposure and BDI ≥ 11 (OR = 3.85; 95% CI: 1.13-13.0; P = 0.030).

Conclusion

This study showed a high frequency of depressive symptoms among the workers of an industrial factory which had a significant association with solvent exposure.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The authors sincerely thank the workers who participated in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Research on Occupational Diseases (CROD), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Maryam Saraei, Maryam Golshan, Omid Aminian & Sahar Eftekhari

Authors
  1. Maryam Saraei
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  2. Maryam Golshan
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  3. Omid Aminian
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  4. Sahar Eftekhari
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Contributions

Maryam Saraei conceived and designed the experiments, contributed reagents, materials & data and was involved in manuscript preparation and manuscript editing.

Maryam Golshan conceived and designed the experiments, performed the experiments and wrote the paper.

Omid Aminian conceived and designed the experiments and was involved in manuscript preparation and manuscript editing.

Sahar Eftekhari conceived and designed the experiments, analyzed and interpreted the data and was involved in manuscript preparation and manuscript editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sahar Eftekhari.

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Saraei, M., Golshan, M., Aminian, O. et al. Association between solvent exposure and depression among industrial workers. J Public Health (Berl.) 30, 953–958 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-020-01376-y

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