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Prevalence of depression among electrical workers
Author(s) -
Savitz David A.,
Boyle Coleen A.,
Holmgreen Patricia
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.4700250203
Subject(s) - minnesota multiphasic personality inventory , depression (economics) , medicine , personality , occupational safety and health , psychiatry , occupational medicine , occupational exposure , environmental health , psychology , pathology , social psychology , economics , macroeconomics
To address the possible association between electric and magnetic field exposure and depression, we analyzed data from the Vietnam Experience Study. In order to compare the risk of diagnosed depression, depressive symptoms, and elevations in personality scales indicative of depression, we classified employed participants as electrical workers (N = 183) and nonelectrical workers (N = 3,861) and compared their scores on the Diagnostic Interview Survey (DIS) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Electrical workers in the aggregate showed little evidence of increased risk, with the possible exception of an increase in elevated MMPI depression scores among short‐term workers. Data on electricians yielded indications of increased risk for several markers of depression. Despite the limited number of electrical workers, uncertainty regarding exposure, and our inability to address other workplace exposures, these results suggest that electrical workers in general are not at increased risk for depression. However, our results encourage further evaluation of depression among electricians. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.