The odds of a major depressive episode are more than double for those working 11 or more hours a day compared to those working seven to eight hours a day, according to a report is published inthe online journal PLoS ONE.
The authors, led by Marianna Virtanen of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and University College London, followed about 2000 middle aged British civil servants and found a robust association between overtime work and depression. This correlation was not affected when the analysis was adjusted for various possible confounders, including socio-demographics, lifestyle, and work-related factors.
There have been a number of previous studies on the subject, with varying results, but the researchers emphasize that it is hard to compare results across these studies because the cut-off for “overtime” work has not been standardized.
“Although occasionally working overtime may have benefits for the individual and society, it is important to recognize that working excessive hours is also associated with an increased risk of major depression”, says Dr Virtanen.
“Plausible explanations of why long working hours are associated with the development of depression can not be drawn directly from our study”, the article notes. “Serial adjustment for socio-demographic factors, physical disease, smoking, alcohol use, job strain, and social support at work, had little effect on the association or even strengthened it. Long working hours may in part affect mental health through factors not measured in our study, such as work-family conflicts, difficulties in unwinding after work or prolonged increased cortisol levels . The effect of long working hours on mental health may also be different in women and men . To date, the exact aetiology of depression is not known, but it is widely assumed that it is multifactorial involving genetic, biological, and psychosocial factors.”
Source: http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0030719
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