Effects of lifetime unemployment experience and job insecurity on two-year risk of physician-diagnosed incident depression in the German working population

Abstract

Unemployment and job insecurity have been reported to be associated with a higher risk of depression. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the separate and combined effects of lifetime unemployment experience and job insecurity on the incidence of depression in an unselected working population in Germany. Data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) study were used, as was a final sample of those currently employed, with complete data at baseline (2009) and follow-up (2011) restricted to those free of depression in 2009 (n = 7073). Poisson regression analysis was applied to test the prospective associations between unemployment, job insecurity, and a two-year incident of depression. Results showed that the experience of unemployment and perceived job insecurity were significantly associated with a higher risk of depression during the two-year follow-up (risk ratios 1.64; 95% confidence intervals (1.16, 2.31) and risk ratios 1.48; 95% confidence intervals (1.13, 1.92), respectively). Notably, the strongest risk was observed among participants with insecure jobs and past long-term unemployment (risk ratios 2.15; 95% confidence intervals (1.32; 3.52)). In conclusion, even during employment, the experience of lifetime unemployment led to a higher risk of depression. The combination of previous unemployment experience and anticipated job insecurity increased the risk of developing depression. Results support health promotion with special emphasis on unemployment and precarious working conditions.