Factors associated with being granted a pension among psychiatric outpatients with major depression.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about factors associated with early retirement due to major depression in naturalistic settings. We examined to what extent major depression leads to disability pension and whether there are any associated factors with being granted a pension.


METHODS
In our retrospective document-based cohort study of 213 adult psychiatric outpatients with first-time documented DSM-III-R major depression, several sociodemographic, clinical and treatment characteristics were detected during the follow-up time of 3 months of medical care in Finland. This information was related to official registers of granted pensions with a follow-up time of 30 months.


RESULTS
Forty-six (21.6%) patients were granted a pension during the follow-up period. Greater age, comorbidity and lowered self-esteem were strongly associated with being granted a pension.


CONCLUSIONS
Some risk factors associated with subsequent retirement could be identified at the early phase of the illness.
Sorvaniemi
Marko
M
Psychiatric Policlinic of Rauma, Satakunta Hospital District, Steniuksenkatu 2, 26100 Rauma, Finland. marko.sorvaniemi@satshp.fi
Helenius
Hans
H
Salokangas
Raimo K R
RK
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010415:Pensions; D012179:Retirement; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012649:Self Concept; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000523:psychology