Housework, paid work and psychiatric symptoms.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the hypothesis that work burden, the simultaneous engagement in paid work and unpaid family housework, is a potential risk factor for psychiatric symptoms among women.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was carried out with 460 women randomly selected from a poor area of the city of Salvador, Brazil. Women between 18 to 70 years old, who reported having a paid occupation or were involved in unpaid domestic activities for their families, were eligible. Work burden-related variables were defined as: a) double work shift, i.e., simultaneous engagement in a paid job plus unpaid housework; and b) daily working time. Psychiatric symptoms were collected through a validated questionnaire, the QMPA.


RESULTS
Positive, statistically significant associations between high (>7 symptoms) QMPA scores and either double work shift (prevalence ratio - PR=2.04, 95% confidence interval - CI: 1.16, 2.29) or more than 10 hours of daily work time (PR=2.29, 95% CI: 1.96, 3.43) were found after adjustment for age, marital status and number of pre-school children.


CONCLUSIONS
Major correlates of high QMPA scores are work burden variables. Being married or having pre-school children are also associated with high QMPA scores only when associated with work burden.
Santana
V S
VS
Instituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brasil.
Loomis
D P
DP
Newman
B
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006281:Health Occupations; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D017533:Marital Status; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012307:Risk Factors; D014931:Women, Working / Q000523:psychology*; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology*