Do depression and its associated factors differ in women daytime and shift workers?: an analysis of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2018.

Hyun Ju Chae,Mijong Kim

doi:10.4069/kjwhn.2021.05.17

Abstract

PurposeThis study examined health behaviors, use of health services, and depression among women who perform daytime and shift work in Korea, as well as factors related to depression.MethodsWe conducted a secondary analysis using data from the 2018 data of the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Data on women, 1,493 regular daytime workers and 322 shift workers, were analyzed.ResultsWomen shift workers were younger (χ2=43.97, p<.001), had a lower education level (χ2=45.56, p<.001), and lower personal income (χ2=16.85, p=.030) than their daytime counterparts. A higher proportion of shift workers were unmarried (χ2=37.47, p<.001) and they typically worked fewer than 40 hours per week (χ2=69.94, p<.001). The depression score of shift workers was higher than that of daytime workers (t=2.85, p=.005). A higher proportion of shift workers also drank alcohol (χ2=6.49, p=.032) and smoked (χ2=30.79, p<.001). Over 8% of shift workers typically slept fewer than 5 hours per night (χ2=14.17, p=.024). It was confirmed that depression in women shift workers was affected by age, personal income, marital status, health status, and smoking status, in addition to cancer screening participation, unmet medical care needs, and unmet dental care needs.Conclusion More attention should be given to the health needs of women working shifts. Health promotion programs specific for women shift workers are needed to improve their physical and mental health, encourage use of medical care services, and improve public health policies and systems.

Highlights

As the desire for higher education and self-actualization has increased among women in Korea, their participation in the economy has increased, with the rate of employment for women rising from 54.9% in 2011 to 60.0% in 2019 [1,2]
Depression was higher among women shift workers than among their daytime working counterparts
This is consistent with the results of a study of employed women showing a higher rate of depression among women who performed shift work than among women who were daytime workers [19] and a study of male and female workers that showed a higher rate of depression among shift workers than among daytime workers [8,20]

Summary

Introduction

As the desire for higher education and self-actualization has increased among women in Korea, their participation in the economy has increased, with the rate of employment for women rising from 54.9% in 2011 to 60.0% in 2019 [1,2] This remarkable increase in women’s employment rate does not mean that women’s self-actualization and quality of life have necessarily improved. This is because a high proportion of women undertake non-regular shift work and part-time work compared to men, and inequality has been identified as a new problem related to the different employment rates and employment patterns of men and women [3].

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Results

Conclusion