Presentation Schedule
The Impact of Lifetime Occupation Complexity on Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults (91883)
Wednesday, 26 March 2025 15:40
Session: Poster Session 3
Room: Orion Hall (5F)
Presentation Type: Poster Presentation
Background: Depression is the leading cause of disability globally, placing a significant burden on the workplace. Previous studies have reported that workers in occupations associated with a lack of decision latitude, job strain, and bullying experience are at an elevated risk of depression. However, the link between occupation and depression has generally been explored without accounting for occupational complexity. It is unclear from these studies what specific occupational characteristics are associated with a higher or lower prevalence of depression.
Methods: This study examined the association between the risk of depression and occupation by using measures of work complexity with data, people, and things. We recruited 150 community-dwelling older adults in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The complexity of lifetime occupation was measured using the fourth edition of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), which includes the complexity of work with data, people, and things. Depression was assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS).
Results: We observed significant negative correlations between all three aspects (data, people, and things) of work complexity and GDS scores. A higher complexity of work with people in the main lifetime occupation was associated with reduced odds of depression, independent of age, gender, educational attainment, income, health behaviors, and medical conditions. Greater complexity of work with people and data was protective for workers with low socioeconomic status.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that occupation may influence the risk of depression, particularly complex work with people, which may have a protective effect against depression in later life.
Authors:
Kyoung-Bok Min, Seoul National University, South Korea
Jin-Young Min, Veterans Medical Research Institute, South Korea
About the Presenter(s)
Dr Kyoung-Bok Min is currently Professor of Preventive Medicine at Seoul National University, Republic of Korea
See this presentation on the full schedule – Wednesday Schedule
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