Background: This study aimed at assessing the changes in mental disorders in the French working population between 2006 and 2010, using nationally representative prospective data and a structured diagnostic interview for major depressive episode (MDE) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and also at exploring the differential changes in mental disorders according to age, origin, occupation, public/private sector, self-employed/employee status and work contract.
Methods: The data came from the prospective national representative Santé et Itinéraire Professionnel (SIP) survey, including a sample of 5600 French workers interviewed in 2006 and 2010. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) was used to measure MDE and GAD. Analyses were performed using weighted generalized estimation equations, and were stratified by gender.
Results: No changes in MDE and GAD were observed for both genders among the working population. No differential changes were observed, except one: the prevalence of GAD increased among women working in the public sector while there was no change among women in the private sector.
Limitations: Two data collections over a 4-year period may not capture the effects of the crisis on mental disorders properly.
Conclusion: No changes in mental disorders between 2006 and 2010 were found but the increase in the prevalence of anxiety among women in the public sector may be of particular interest for prevention policies. High levels of social protection in France might contribute to explain these non-significant results.
Keywords: Changes; France; Mental disorders; Structured diagnostic interview; Working population.
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