Prevalence of serious psychological distress among slaughterhouse workers at a United States beef packing plant

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Workers in the animal slaughter and processing industry in the United States experience high rates of occupational injury as well as stressful work conditions, yet mental health in this workforce remains largely unstudied. OBJECTIVE: To assess prevalence of serious psychological distress (SPD) in a sample of industrial US slaughterhouse workers. PARTICIPANTS: Workers at an industrial beef packing plant in Nebraska, United States (n=137). METHODS: We interviewed workers using the Kessler-6, a well-validated measure of non-specific anxiety disorders, to assess SPD. We compared SPD prevalence with national estimates from 2009 CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Study. RESULTS: Prevalence of SPD among workers was 4.4%, compared to United States population-wide prevalence of 3.6%. Prevalence of mild and moderate psychological distress among these workers (14.6%) was also higher than national estimates. Recent occupational injury, work area and job activities were not associated with elevated prevalence of SPD. Non-Hispanic white workers experienced elevated prevalence of SPD compared to Hispanic or Latino workers (prevalence odds ratio: 6.4; CI: 1.3, 30.5; p=0.012). CONCLUSION: Workers at a US industrial slaughterhouse experienced higher prevalence of SPD compared to United States population-wide estimates, but occupational risk factors for this outcome were not identified.