The associations between childhood trauma and work functioning in adult workers with and without depressive and anxiety disorders

Venter, M. de; Elzinga, B.M.; Eede, F. van den; Wouters, K.; Hal, G.F. van; Veltman, D.J.; ... ; Penninx, B.W.J.H. (2020)

Article / Letter to editor

Background: To examine the association between childhood trauma and work functioning, and to elucidate to what extent this association can be accounted for by depression and/or anxiety.Methods: Data of 1,649 working participants were derived from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA, n = 2,981). Childhood trauma (emotional neglect, psychological, physical, and sexual abuse before age 16) was assessed with a structured interview and work functioning, in terms of absenteeism and presenteeism, with the Health and Labor Questionnaire Short Form (SF-HLQ) and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule II (WHODAS-II), respectively. Depressive and/or anxiety disorders were assessed with the Composite Interview Diagnostic Instrument (CIDI). Mediation analyses were conducted.Results: At baseline, 44.8% reported to have experienced childhood trauma. Workers with the highest childhood trauma level showed significantly (p < 0.001) more absenteeism as well as more presenteeism. Mediation analyses revealed that indirect effects between the childhood trauma index and both work indices were significantly mediated by current depressive disorder (p = 0.023 and p < 0.001, respectively) and current comorbid depression-anxiety (p = 0.020 and p < 0.001, respectively), with the latter accounting for the largest effects (P-M = 0.23 and P-M = 0.29, respectively). No significant mediating role in this relationship was found for current anxiety disorder and remitted depressive and/or anxiety disorder.Conclusions: Persons with childhood trauma have significantly reduced work functioning in terms of absenteeism and presenteeism. This seems to be largely accounted for by current depressive disorders and current comorbid depression-anxiety.

• Absenteeism
• anxiety
• childhood trauma
• depression
• presenteeism

• All authors: Venter, M. de; Elzinga, B.M.; Eede, F. van den; Wouters, K.; Hal, G.F. van; Veltman, D.J.; Sabbe, B.G.C.; Penninx, B.W.J.H.
• Date: 2020-01-01
• Journal: European Psychiatry
• Volume: 63
• Issue: 1
• DOI: doi:10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.70
• Link: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-psychiatry/article/asso...