Depression, Fatigue and Anxiety

If you suffers from depression, take more rest in order to have higher work productivity.
According to the American Psychiatric Association’s 160th Annual Meeting in San Diego, depression coupled with fatigue, sleep problems or anxiety causes greater significant drop in productivity than just depression along. In addition, the study also showed that co-occurring fatigue or sleep problems significantly increased depression-related healthcare cost

In the study, which used an integrated database of healthcare claims and surveys of almost 14,000 employees at two large U.S. firms, researchers analyzed data on healthcare spending and presenteeism (i.e., employees’ estimates of their own productivity while at work) to assess the impact of depression and other chronic conditions.(1)

Overall, among the ten most prevalent physical and mental conditions measured, depression had the single largest negative effect on work productivity. That effect was magnified when [tag-tec]fatigue, sleep problems and anxiety[/tag-tec] – conditions that often co-occur with depression – were also present. Further, while depression had significant adverse effects on productivity in the absence of other co-morbid conditions, effects of these other conditions in the absence of depression were not as pronounced.(1)

“While depression itself has a significant economic impact, the negative effect on both workplace productivity and healthcare costs can be considerably increased when employees who are depressed also suffer from other conditions,” said Ronald C. Kessler, Ph.D., Professor of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass. “These findings suggest we should aim to identify and minimize multiple factors associated with depression early to reduce this burden.”

[Via PRNews ]