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Kim, Park, Kim, Lim, Lee, Jeon, and Huh: Association between Long Working Hours and Suicidal Ideation
Original Article
Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2012; 24(4): 339-346.

Published online: 31 December 2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.0000/kjoem.2012.24.4.339

Association between Long Working Hours and Suicidal Ideation

Ki-Ung Kim, Shin-Goo Park, Hwan-Cheol Kim, Jong-Han Lim, Sung-June Lee, Sung-Hwan Jeon, Yong-Suk Huh

Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Inha University Hospital, Korea.

Corresponding author (stressdr@naver.com)

Received 24 April 2012       Revised 7 September 2012       Accepted 4 October 2012

Copyright © 2012 The Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Abstract

Objectives

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between long working hours and suicidal ideation.

Methods

Data based on the fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Health and Nutrition Examination Survey_(2007~2009) pertaining to a total of 4,539 full-time workers were analyzed. Working hours were divided into four groups (<40 hours/week, 40~51 hours/week, 52~60 hours/week, >60 hours/week). The relationship between working hours and suicidal ideation was then analyzed after adjusting for general and occupational characteristics using a multivariate logistic regression model.

Results

Working 40-51 hours/week showed the lowest suicidal ideation(9.5%), whereas working 52~59 hours/week, over 60 hours/week and less than 40 hours/week showed suicidal ideations of 14.8%, 15.7% and 17.2% respectively. Even after adjusting for general and occupational characteristics, employees working 40~51 hours/week had the lowest suicidal ideation. Working 52~59 hour/week, over 60 hours/week and less than 40 hours/week showed an odds ratios of 1.413(p-value: 0.058), 1.380(p-value: 0.020) and 1.164(p-value: 0.358) respectively.

Conclusions

The results suggest that working long hours, especially over 60 hours per week, is related to suicidal ideation.

Keywords: Work hour, Suicidal ideation, Suicide

Figures and Tables

Table 1
Number of workers with suicidal ideation by general characteristics N(%)
kjoem-24-339-i001

*by chi-square test.

Table 2
Number of workers with suicidal ideation by occupational characteristics N(%)
kjoem-24-339-i002

*by chi-square test.

Table 3
Association between working hours and suicidal ideation
kjoem-24-339-i003

*odds ratio by univariate logistic regression analysis.

†multivariate logistic regression analysis, adjusted for general characteristics (age, gender, educational status, stress, marital status, depression, household income and sleeping duration).

‡multivariate logistic regression analysis, adjusted for general and occupational characteristics (age, gender, educational status, stress, marital status, depression, household income, sleeping duration, employment status, working type, occupation and industry type).

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