Skip to main content

Table 3 Associations of study variables with psychological distress by gender (MHI-5 cut-off point <=52) (%)

From: Factors contributing to psychological distress in the working population, with a special reference to gender difference

%

Men (N = 15,059)

Women (N = 18,050)

Psychological distress (N = 1321)

No psychological distress (N = 13,738)

P value

Psychological distress (N = 1984)

No psychological distress (N = 16,066)

P value

% (N)

% (N)

% (N)

% (N)

Age group

 20–34 (21.4)

12.0 (388)

88.0 (2977)

< 0.0001

15.6 (554)

84.4 (3138)

< 0.0001

 35–49 (36.7)

9.6 (507)

90.4 (5103)

 

10.9 (688)

89.1 (5865)

 

 50–65 (41.9)

7.5 (426)

92.5 (5658)

 

9.9 (742)

90.1 (7063)

 

Education years

 < =12 (32.0)

10.0 (541)

90.0 (5355)

0.0756

13.1 (548)

86.9 (3992)

0.0013

 13–16 (39.1)

9.9 (464)

90.1 (4753)

 

11.5 (844)

88.5 (6982)

 

 17+ (28.9)

8.6 (316)

91.4 (3630)

 

10.7 (592)

89.3 (5093)

 

Marital status

 Married/cohabiting (76.7)

8.1 (879)

91.9 (10,743)

< 0.0001

10.0 (1238)

90.0 (11,814)

< 0.0001

 Separated/divorced/widowed (9.9)

14.2 (123)

85.8 (11,622)

 

14.7 (308)

85.3 (1879)

 

 Single (13.4)

14.5 (280)

85.5 (1746)

 

16.7 (365)

83.3 (1895)

 

Lives alone

 Yes (13.7)

14.7 (262)

85.3 (1690)

< 0.0001

15.4 (385)

84.6 (2243)

< 0.0001

 No (86.3)

8.7 (1059)

91.3 (12,048)

 

11.0 (1599)

89.0 (13,824)

 

Has children under 18 years of age

 Yes (53.1)

8.6 (498)

91.4 (5565)

< 0.0001

11.1 (674)

88.9 (5699)

0.0023

 No (46.9)

11.6 (495)

88.4 (4232)

 

12.9 (777)

87.1 (5604)

 

At-risk drinkinga

 Yes (28.4)

12.0 (606)

88.0 (4930)

< 0.0001

15.2 (574)

84.8 (3414)

< 0.0001

 No (71.6)

8.1 (705)

91.9 (8808)

 

10.6 (1410)

89.4 (12,653)

 

Current smoker

 Yes (22.3)

13.6 (291)

86.4 (1987)

< 0.0001

19.2 (411)

80.8 (1869)

< 0.0001

 No (77.7)

8.6 (646)

91.4 (6908)

 

10.7 (900)

89.3 (7503)

 

Loneliness

 Never/seldom/sometimes (93.8)

7.1 (933)

92.9 (13,285)

< 0.0001

8.8 (1394)

91.2 (15,381)

< 0.0001

 Often/all the time (6.2)

49.3 (385)

50.7 (409)

 

48.1 (587)

51.9 (669)

 

Active member in societies, hobby groups, etc.

 Yes (29.5)

6.9 (283)

93.1 (4182)

< 0.0001

8.0 (397)

92.0 (4775)

< 0.0001

 No (70.5)

10.7 (1020)

89.3 (9367)

 

13.1 (1553)

86.9 (11,021)

 

How difficult or easy is it to cover household costs?

 Fairly difficult/very difficult (24.0)

29.0 (251)

71.0 (655)

< 0.0001

29.2 (369)

70.8 (914)

< 0.0001

 Fairly easy /very easy (76.0)

8.2 (1063)

91.8 (12,998)

 

10.1 (1592)

89.9 (15,013)

 

How many persons give you practical help?

 No one (1.3)

39.8 (77)

60.2 (128)

< 0.0001

40.8 (75)

59.2 (119)

< 0.0001

 1–2 persons (54.9)

11.8 (863)

88.2 (7215)

 

13.9 (1223)

86.1 (8161)

 

 3–6 persons (43.8)

5.8 (331)

94.2 (5890)

 

8.1 (593)

91.9 (7187)

 

How many persons give you emotional support?

 No one (0.9)

40.9 (54)

59.1 (85)

< 0.0001

45.2 (61)

54.8 (79)

< 0.0001

 1–2 persons (58.9)

10.9 (931)

89.1 (8531)

 

13.8 (1206)

86.2 (8120)

 

 3–6 persons (40.2)

6.2 (288)

93.8 (4646)

 

8.3 (628)

91.7 (7291)

 

Helping a parent outside the household regularly, at least once a month

 Yes (42.9)

9.1 (382)

90.9 (4099)

0.0077

11.7 (634)

88.3 (5067)

0.1040

 No (57.1)

10.7 (649)

89.3 (5789)

 

12.6 (859)

87.4 (6273)

 

Helping a child outside the household regularly, at least once a month

 Yes (34.6)

9.3 (264)

90.7 (2837)

0.0774

11.1 (486)

88.9 (4077)

0.0075

 No (65.4)

10.5 (706)

89.5 (6332)

 

12.8 (913)

87.2 (6554)

 

Helping someone else outside the household regularly, at least once a month

 Yes (35.1)

10.6 (323)

89.4 (2960)

0.299

13.6 (617)

86.4 (4165)

0.0008

 No (64.9)

9.9 (687)

90.1 (6614)

 

11.5 (852)

88.5 (6857)

 

Work satisfaction

 Extremely satisfied (20.2)

3.8 (93)

96.2 (2720)

< 0.0001

5.0 (168)

95.0 (3620)

< 0.0001

 Fairly satisfied (56.8)

6.2 (467)

93.8 (7965)

 

8.7 (836)

91.3 (9300)

 

 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (15.1)

15.3 (357)

84.7 (2069)

 

19.3 (465)

80.7 (2008)

 

 Fairly/extremely dissatisfied (7.9)

33.7 (387)

66.3 (811)

 

36.4 (490)

63.6 (895)

 

Mental strain of work

 Low (13.8)

4.4 (90)

95.6 (2212)

< 0.0001

6.0 (112)

94.0 (2024)

< 0.0001

 Moderate (71.7)

7.9 (737)

92.1 (9602)

 

9.7 (1160)

90.3 (11,622)

 

 High (14.5)

24.4 (460)

75.6 (1561)

 

26.0 (663)

74.0 (1974)

 

Physical strain of work

 Low (52.8)

8.3 (582)

91.7 (7040)

< 0.0001

10.4 (926)

89.6 (8549)

< 0.0001

 Moderate (40.5)

9.2 (524)

90.8 (5573)

 

11.8 (775)

88.2 (6136)

 

 High (6.7)

19.1 (187)

80.9 (853)

 

21.0 (226)

79.0 (874)

 

When I come home, I stop thinking about my work

 Yes (56.3)

6.9 (492)

93.1 (7440)

< 0.0001

8.1 (787)

91.9 (9621)

< 0.0001

 No (43.7)

13.0 (814)

87.0 (6116)

 

16.9 (1168)

83.1 (6185)

 

I feel that I am neglecting domestic issues because of my work

 Yes (37.8)

15.5 (761)

84.5 (4583)

< 0.0001

18.5 (1221)

81.5 (5729)

< 0.0001

 No (62.2)

6.3 (543)

93.7 (8957)

 

7.3 (729)

92.7 (10,053)

 

I sometimes ignore my family when I am wholly absorbed in my work

 Yes (26.4)

14.4 (549)

85.6 (3625)

< 0.0001

18.9 (786)

81.1 (3622)

< 0.0001

 No (73.6)

7.8 (751)

92.2 (9883)

 

9.3 (1160)

90.7 (12,146)

 

I often find it difficult to concentrate on my work because of domestic issues

 Yes (9.9)

28.7 (419)

71.3 (1106)

< 0.0001

34.5 (556)

65.5 (1118)

< 0.0001

 No (90.1)

7.3 (881)

92.7 (12,425)

 

9.1 (1395)

90.9 (14,651)

 

I have more energy to be with the children when I also go to work

 Yes (35.1)

6.9 (350)

93.1 (4928)

< 0.0001

9.8 (563)

90.2 (5423)

< 0.0001

 No (64.9)

11.1 (936)

88.9 (8425)

 

12.7 (1362)

87.3 (10,147)

 

I feel inadequacy as a parent

 Yes (17.8)

20.6 (439)

79.4 (1824)

< 0.0001

20.8 (686)

79.2 (2756)

< 0.0001

 No (82.2)

7.7 (850)

92.3 (11,546)

 

9.4 (1243)

90.6 (12,830)

 
  1. Calculated using the inverse probability weights (see Methods)
  2. MHI-5 Mental Health Inventory
  3. aAt-risk drinking is assessed as AUDIT-C, men > = 6 points and women > = 5 points