Study of depression, anxiety and stress among Class IV workers in a medical college in Delhi

Abstract

Context: India contributes significantly to the global burden of mental illnesses in the world. Class-IV workers tend to have poor socioeconomic status, low levels of education, and long erratic working shifts. However, there is a lack of studies to assess their mental health and its impact on quality of life (QOL), especially in the Indian context. Aims: The objectives of the current study were to (i) assess the levels of depression, anxiety, and stress among Class-IV workers in a medical college of Delhi, (ii) study the association of sociodemographic variables with depression, anxiety, and stress levels, and (iii) assess the impact of these psychometric variables on overall health and QOL. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a medical college of Delhi where Class-IV workers were interviewed using a sociodemographic questionnaire and psychometric tools such as DASS-21 and Short Form Survey-12 (v2) (QualityMetric). Statistical analysis included prevalence data, multivariate binary logistic regression, and multiple linear regression. Results and Conclusions: The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress in Class-IV workers was found to be 17%, 15%, and 6%, respectively. The results showed that workers belonging to upper middle socioeconomic class were less likely to have depression than upper lower class (odds ratio [OR] = 0.048, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.003–0.866). Workers educated till primary level were more likely to have anxiety than those educated till high school and beyond (OR = 8.736, CI = 1.28–59.64). Those commuting longer distances from home to workplace daily were less likely to have depression (OR = 0.017, CI = 0.00–0.735) and anxiety (OR = 0.059, CI = 0.004–0.851). High levels of depression, anxiety, and stress had a negative impact on the overall QOL as well (P = 0.001).