Informal Employment and Poor Mental Health in a Sample of 180,260 Workers from 13 Iberoamerican Countries

Michael Silva-Peñaherrera, Paula Santiá and Fernando G. Benavides
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Michael Silva-Peñaherrera: Observatorio Iberoamericano de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo, Organización Iberoamericana de Seguridad Social (OISS), C. de Velázquez, 105, 28006 Madrid, Spain
Paula Santiá: Observatorio Iberoamericano de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo, Organización Iberoamericana de Seguridad Social (OISS), C. de Velázquez, 105, 28006 Madrid, Spain
Fernando G. Benavides: Observatorio Iberoamericano de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo, Organización Iberoamericana de Seguridad Social (OISS), C. de Velázquez, 105, 28006 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-12

Abstract: The aim of this study is to estimate the association between employment conditions and mental health status in the working population of Iberoamerica. In this cross-sectional study, we pooled individual-level data from nationally representative surveys across 13 countries. A sample of 180,260 workers was analyzed. Informality was assessed by social security, health affiliation, or contract holding. Mental health was assessed using several instruments. We used Poisson regression models to estimate the contribution of informality to poor mental health by sex and country, adjusted by sociodemographic and work-related characteristics. Then, we performed a meta-analysis pooling of aggregate data using a random-effects inverse-variance model. Workers in informal employments showed a higher adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) of poor mental health than those in formal employment in Peru (aPR men 1.5 [95% confidence intervals 1.16; 1.93]), Spain (aPR men 2.2 [1.01; 4.78]) and Mexico (aPR men 1.24 [1.04; 1.47]; women 1.39 [1.18; 1.64]). Overall estimates showed that workers in informal employment have a higher prevalence of poor mental health than formal workers, with it being 1.19 times higher (aPR 1.19 [1.02; 1.39]) among men, and 1.11 times higher prevalence among women (aPR 1.11 [1.00; 1.23]). Addressing informal employment could contribute to improving workers’ mental health.

Keywords: informal employment; mental health; health inequalities; occupational health; working conditions surveys (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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