Mood disorders play role in receipt of disability services

Mood disorders appeared linked to elevated and early rates of disability services, according to results of a cohort study published in JAMA Network Open.

“Although mood disorders are strongly associated with disability, studies in this field are usually limited to specific diagnoses and populations, and there is a lack of large, population-based data,” Benicio N. Frey, MD, PhD, of the department of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at McMaster University in Canada, and colleagues wrote. “Small samples and short periods of follow-up limit our knowledge regarding the trajectory of early disability after an incident mood disorder. Understanding the trajectory to disability in high-risk populations, such as individuals with mood disorders, is important given the socioeconomic cost for society and the functional impairment burden for the individuals.”

The investigators aimed to determine the time between diagnosis of incident mood disorder and receipt of disability services during follow-up of up to 20 years. Administrative and social services data were available of 278,296 participants who were included in a mood disorder cohort and 1,624,496 who were included in a common mental disorder cohort. Participants were aged 18 to 59 years and living in Ontario, Canada. Entry into the Ontario Disability Support Program (OSDP), which signified long-term inability to work due to a disability, as well as admission into a long-term care residence, which signified the inability to live in independent housing, served as main outcomes and measures.

Results showed greater ODSP initiation incidence among those with mood disorders vs. those without (adjusted HR [aHR] = 2.03; 95% CI, 1.95-2.11) and for those with common mental disorders (aHR = 1.57; 95% CI, 1.55-1.6). Long-term care admission risk was higher among individuals with common mental disorders vs. those without (aHR = 1.21; 95% CI, 1.14-1.29). Further, those with bipolar disorders had greater ODSP rates vs. individuals with major depressive disorder.

“These results suggest a path to disability services early in the course of common mental disorders,” Frey and colleagues wrote. “Integration of work and health care strategies to mitigate such risk are encouraged.”