Abstract
BackgroundQuestionnaires are valuable for population surveys of mental health. Different survey instruments may however give different results. The present study compares two mental health instruments, the Major Depression Inventory (MDI) and the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5), in regard to their prediction of long-term sickness absence.MethodQuestionnaire data was collected from N = 4153 Danish employees. The questionnaire included the MDI and the MHI-5. The information of long-term sickness absence was obtained from a register. We used Cox regression to calculate covariance adjusted hazard ratios for long-term sickness absence for both measures.ResultsBoth the MDI and the MHI-5 had a highly significant prediction of long-term sickness absence. A one standard deviation change in score was associated with an increased risk of long-term sickness absence of 27% for the MDI and 37% for the MHI-5. When both measures were included in the same analysis, the MHI-5 performed best.ConclusionIn general population surveys, the MHI-5 is a better predictor of long-term sickness absence than the MDI.
Highlights
Questionnaires are valuable for population surveys of mental health
A one standard deviation change in score was associated with an increased risk of long-term sickness absence of 27% for the Major Depression Inventory (MDI) and 37% for the Mental health inventory (MHI-5)
In general population surveys, the MHI-5 is a better predictor of long-term sickness absence than the MDI
Summary
Questionnaires are valuable for population surveys of mental health. The present study compares two mental health instruments, the Major Depression Inventory (MDI) and the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5), in regard to their prediction of long-term sickness absence. Policy makers have an interest in the level of mental health and prevalence of mental health problems in the population. An alternative is self-report questionnaires of mental health. These questionnaires are cheaper and practical for population surveys and they can provide an assessment of all respondents. Questionnaire data on mental health has been shown to be associated with reduced workability [2,3], lower work performance, and sickness absence [4,5,6,7]. Questionnaires can, not find true prevalence but only estimate risk proportions [8]
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