Occupational Risk for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma-Related Depression: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Gabriela Petereit-Haack, Ulrich Bolm-Audorff, Karla Romero Starke and Andreas Seidler
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Gabriela Petereit-Haack: Division of Occupational Health, Department of Occupational Safety and Environment, Regional Government of South Hesse, 65197 Wiesbaden, Germany
Ulrich Bolm-Audorff: Division of Occupational Health, Department of Occupational Safety and Environment, Regional Government of South Hesse, 65197 Wiesbaden, Germany
Karla Romero Starke: Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine (IPAS), Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
Andreas Seidler: Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine (IPAS), Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 24, 1-21

Abstract: There is evidence suggesting that occupational trauma leads to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. However, there is a lack of high-quality reviews studying this association. We, therefore, conducted a systematic review with a meta-analysis to summarize the evidence of occupational trauma on PTSD and depression. After a database search on studies published between 1994 and 2018, we included 31 studies, of which only four had a low risk of bias. For soldiers exposed to wartime deployment, the pooled relative risk (RR) was 2.18 (95% CI 1.83–2.60) for PTSD and 1.15 (95% CI 1.06–1.25) for depression. For employees exposed to occupational trauma, there also was an increased risk for PTSD (RR = 3.18; 95% CI 1.76–5.76) and for depression (RR = 1.73; 95% CI 1.44–2.08). The overall quality of the evidence according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was moderate; the evidence was high only for the association between workers after exposure to trauma and development of PTSD. The study results indicate an increased risk of PTSD and depression in soldiers after participation in war and in employees after occupational trauma.

Keywords: systematic review; occupational trauma; posttraumatic stress disorder; depression; occupational accident; occupational disease (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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