Personal Care Workers Have Highest Rates of Depression

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Personal care and food service workers have the highest rates of depression (10.8 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively) among full time workers in the United States, says a report released Monday by the federal government's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Overall, seven percent of fulltime workers ages 18-64 experienced one or more major depressive episodes in the past year. Women were more likely than men to suffer depression and young adults, ages 18-25, had the highest rate of depression (8.9 percent) among all age groups of adults working fulltime.

Depression rates among other age groups were: 7.6 percent, ages 26-34; 7.2 percent, ages 35-49; 5.1 percent, ages 50-64. Among young adult workers, those in health care and technical occupations had the highest rate of depression within the past year (11.9 percent).

Occupations with the lowest rates of depression were: engineering, architecture and surveying, 4.3 percent; life, physical and social science, 4.4 percent; and installation, maintenance and repair, 4.4 percent.

HealthDay News, October 15, 2007

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