Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Chronic psychosocial stress at work and risk of depression: evidence from prospective studies

  • Published:
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Due to their high prevalence and severe consequences depressive disorders provide a primary challenge to medicine and public health. Improving our understanding of modifiable risk factors may help to advance preventive efforts. Chronic psychosocial stress at work, as defined by two theoretical models, demand-control and effort-reward imbalance, is one such modifiable risk factor. This paper reviews and discusses current evidence of associations between work-related psychosocial stress and depression based on a systematic review of prospective cohort studies of these two models, published within the last 10 years. Findings from 12 reports indicate a rather consistently elevated odds ratio of about 1.8 of depression among men and women who were exposed to high demand and low control at work or who spent high efforts in combination with low rewards received in turn. Findings are substantiated by results from experimental investigations that explored psychobiological mechanisms underlying this association. In conclusion, there is solid evidence of a prospectively established moderate association of chronic psychosocial stress at work, as defined by theoretical models, with depression. Despite open research questions the implications of these findings for prevention should be addressed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ahola K, Hakanen J (2007) Job strain, burnout, and depressive symptoms: a prospective study among dentists. J Affect Disord 104:103–110

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Berwick DM, Murphy JM, Goldman PA et al (1991) Performance of a five-item mental health screening test. Med Care 29:169–176

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Brunner E, Davey Smith G, Marmot M, Canner R, Beksinska M, O’Brien J (1996) Childhood social circumstances and psychosocial and behavioral factors as determinants of plasma fibrogen. Lancet 347:1008–1013

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Caspi A, Moffitt T (2006) Gene-environment interactions in psychiatry: joining forces with neuroscience. Nat Rev Neurosci 7:583–590

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Derogatis L (1977) Administration, scoring and procedures manual -I for the R(evised) version. John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  6. Dragano N, He Y, Moebus S, Jöckel KH, Erbel R, Siegrist J (2008) Two models of job stress and depressive symptoms. Results from a population-based study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 43:72–78

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Godin I, Kittel F, Coppieters Y, Siegrist J (2005) A prospective study of cumulative job stress in relation to mental health. BMC Public Health 15:67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Goldberg DP (1972) Detecting psychiatric illness by questionnaire. Maudsley monograph no. 21. Oxford University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  9. Griffin JM, Fuhrer R, Stansfeld SA, Marmot M (2005) The importance of low control at work and home on depression and anxiety: do these effects vary by gender and social class? Soc Sci Med 54:783–798

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Hamer M, Williams E, Vuonovirta E (2006) The effects of effort-reward imbalance on inflammatory and cardiovascular responses to mental stress. Psychosom Med 68:408–413

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Hurwitz Eller N, Netterstrom B, Hansen AM (2006) Psychosocial factors at home and at work and levels of salivary cortisol. Biol Psychol 73:280–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Johnson JV, Hall EM (1988) Job strain, work place social support, and cardiovascular disease: a cross-sectional study of a random sample of the Swedish working population. Am J Public Health 78:1336–42

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Karasek RA, Brisson C, Kawakami N et al (1998) The job content questionnaire (JCQ): an instrument for internationally comparative assessments of psychosocial job characteristics. J Occup Health Psychol 3:322–355

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Karasek RA, Theorell T (1990) Healthy work. Stress, productivity and the reconstruction of working life. Basic Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  15. Kessler RC, Andrews G, Mroczek D, Ustun TB, Wittchen HU (1998) The world health organization composite international diagnostic interview short-form (CIDI-SF). Int J Methods Psychiatr Res 7:171–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Kivimäki M, Vahtera J, Elovainio M, Virtanen M, Siegrist J (2007) Effort-reward imbalance, procedural injustice and relational injustice as psychosocial predictors of health: complementary or redundant models? Occup Environ Med 64:659–665

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. de Lange AH, Taris TW, Kompier MA, Houtman IL, Bongers PM (2005) Different mechanisms to explain the reversed effects of mental health on work characteristics. Scand J Work Environ Health 31:3–14

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Marchand A, Demers A, Durand P (2005) Does work really cause distress? The contribution of occupational structure and work organization to the experience of psychological distress. Soc Sci Med 61:1–14

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Mathers CD, Lopez AD, Murray CJL (2006) The burden of disease and mortality by condition: data, methods, and results for 2001. In: Lopez AD, Mathers CD, Ezzati M, Jamison DT, Murray CJL (eds) Global burden of disease and risk factors, pp 45–234. Available online at http://www.dcp2.org/pubs/gbd

  20. Mausner-Dorsch H, Eaton WW (2000) Psychosocial work environment and depression: epidemiologic assessment of the demand-control model. Am J Public Health 90:1765–1770

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. McEwen B (1998) Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators. N Engl J Med 338:S171–S179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Niedhammer I, Goldberg M, Leclerc A et al (1998) Psychosocial factors at work and subsequent depressive symptoms in the Gazel cohort. Scand J Work Environ Health 24:197–205

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Niedhammer I, Chastang JF, David S, Barouhiel L, Barrandon G (2006) Psychosocial work environment and mental health: jobstrain and effort-reward imbalance models in a context of major organizational changes. Int J Occup Environ Health 12:111–119

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Paterniti S, Niedhammer I, Lang T, Consoli SM (2002) Psychosocial factors at work, personality traits and depressive symptoms. Longitudinal results from the GAZEL Study. Br J Psychiatry 181:111–117

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Pikhart H, Bobak M, Pajak A et al (2004) Psychosocial factors at work and depression in three countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Soc Sci Med 58:1475–1482

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Radloff LS (1977) The CES-D scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Appl Psychol Measure 1:385–401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Rugulies R, Bültmann U, Aust B, Burr H (2006) Psychosocial work environment and incidence of severe depressive symptoms: prospective findings from a 5-year follow-up of the Danish work environment cohort study. Am J Epidemiol 163:877–887

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Sanderson K, Andrews G (2006) Common mental disorders in the workforce: recent findings from descriptive and social epidemiology. Can J Psychiatry 51:63–75

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Siegrist J (1996) Adverse health effects of high-effort/low-reward conditions. J Occup Health Psychol 1:27–41

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Siegrist J, Starke D, Chandola T et al (2004) The measurement of effort-reward imbalance at work: European comparisons. Soc Sci Med 58:1483–1499

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Shields M (1999) Long working hours and health. Health Rep 11:33–48

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Spector PE, Chen PY, O’Connell BJ (2000) A longitudinal study of relations between job stressors and job strains while controlling for prior negative affectivity and strains. J Appl Psychol 85:211–8

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Stansfeld SA, Fuhrer R, Shipley MJ, Marmot M (1999) Work characteristics predict psychiatric disorder: prospective results from the Whitehall II study. Occup Environ Med 56:302–307

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Stansfeld S, Candy B (2006) Psychosocial work environment and mental health—a meta-analytic review. Scand J Work Environ Health 32:443–62

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Steptoe A, Siegrist J, Kirschbaum C, Marmot M (2004) Effort-reward imbalance, overcommitment, and measures of cortisol and blood pressure over the working day. Psychosom Med 66:323–329

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Tsutsumi A, Kayaba K, Theorell T, Siegrist J (2001) Association between job stress and depression among Japanese employees threatened by job loss in a comparison between two complementary job-stress models. Scand J Work Environ Health 27:146–153

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Wahrendorf M, von dem Knesebeck O, Siegrist J (2006) Social productivity and well-being of older people: baseline results from the SHARE study. Eur J Ageing 3:67–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Wang JL, Pattern SB (2004) Perceived work stress and major depressive episodes in a population of employed Canadians over 18 years old. J Nerv Ment Dis 192:160–163

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Wang JL (2006) Perceived work stress, imbalance between work and family/personal lives, and mental disorders. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 41:541–548

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Wege N, Dragano N, Erbel R et al (2008) When does work stress hurt? Testing the interaction with socioeconomic position in the Heinz Nixdorf recall study. J Epidemiol Community Health 62:338–341

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Ylipaavalniemi J, Kivimäki M, Elovainio M et al (2005) Psychosocial work characteristics and incidence of newly diagnosed depression: a prospective cohort study of three different models. Soc Sci Med 61:111–122

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Conflict of interest statement

I hereby declare that I don’t have any financial relationship with sponsoring organisations or interests that organisations represent.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Medical Sociology, Faculty of Medicine, Heinrich-Heine-University of Duesseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Johannes Siegrist (Director)

Authors
  1. Johannes Siegrist
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Johannes Siegrist.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Siegrist, J. Chronic psychosocial stress at work and risk of depression: evidence from prospective studies. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 258 (Suppl 5), 115–119 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-008-5024-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-008-5024-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation