Mental disorders significantly impact years of working life for individuals in Denmark

For adults in Denmark, diagnosis of mental disorders led to a significant impact on the number of working years when compared with the general population, according to a study published in Lancet Psychiatry.

“The effect of mental disorders on workforce participation can vary from unemployment to extended periods of sick leave, and permanent exit from the workforce via disability pension or voluntary early retirement,” Oleguer Plana-Ripoll, PhD, of the department of clinical epidemiology at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, and colleagues wrote.

Plana-Ripoll and colleagues aimed to estimate the association between different types of mental disorders and working years lost, defined as the number of years not actively working or enrolled in an educational program.

This population-based cohort study included more than 5 million individuals aged 18 to 65 years in the Danish Civil Registration System from January 1995, through December 2016. Data on mental disorders were obtained from the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register and information on labor market characteristics was obtained from administrative registers. Follow-up for this cohort commenced when a participant reached the age of 18 years, immigrated to Denmark or on Jan. 1, 1995, whichever came later. Follow-up concluded at 65 years, patient’s death, emigration from Denmark, disability pension, voluntary early retirement or Dec 31, 2016, whichever came earlier.

The primary outcome was estimated by working years lost for those diagnosed with any mental disorder and 24 types of mental disorders, as well as for the general population of same age and sex. Researchers also decomposed total working years lost into periods of unemployment or sick leave, disability pension, voluntary early retirement, or death.

Results showed that all participants were followed up for 65.4 million person-years. Overall, 488,775 (9.47%) individuals were diagnosed with a mental disorder. On average, individuals with mental disorders lost an additional 10.52 years of working life (95% CI, 10.48–10.57) compared with the general Danish population. Receiving a disability pension (7.49–7.59 years) and longer periods of unemployment (2.21–2.27 years) accounted for most of this difference.

“We hope that this research will inform interventions to promote employees’ mental health and support individuals with mental disorders during their entire working life,” Plana-Ripoll and colleagues wrote.