Effect of long working hours and insomnia on depressive symptoms among employees of Chinese internet companies

The moderating role of physical activity on the relationship between work intensity and depressive symptoms among the employees

Our aim was to examine the associations between work intensity and depressive symptoms among the working population, as well as to identify the impact of physical activity (PA) on these relationships. Spearman correlation analysis was conducted to analyze the correlations among work intensity, PA, and depressive symptoms. Working hours and working days were positively correlated with depressive symptoms (r = 0.108, 0.063; all p values were <0.001). Regular PA, exercise time, exercise frequency, and exercise years were negatively correlated with depressive symptoms (r = -0.121, -0.124, -0.152, -0.149; all p values were <0.001) and working days (r = -0.066, -0.050, -0.069, -0.044; all p values were <0.001), working hours (r = -0.113. -0.106, -0.161, -0.123; all p values were <0.001). Working days was positively correlated with working hours (r = 0.512, p < 0.001). Different levels of PA alleviated the effect of working hours or working days on depressive symptoms. Working hours seemed to be more correlated with depressive symptoms than working days. The results suggest that PA at any level could buffer against the effects of work intensity and might prove a helpful strategy for improving mental health issues among employees.

Physical activity (PA) influences the risk of depression associated with long working hours

BACKGROUND

Growing evidences showed that long working hours is associated with depression epidemic, but few studies investigate whether physical activity (PA) could modify the risk of depression associated with long working hours, which was the purpose of the present study.

METHODS

A cross-sectional data obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015-2018. According to the criteria of International Labour Organization, long working hours was defined as >40 h/wk. The Nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to identify depression. Binary logistic regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were used to estimate the associations between long working hours and depression, furthermore to estimate the association of PA.

RESULTS

5958 participants were included in the study. The results indicated that 3074 (51.6 %) of participants worked >40 h/wk. The prevalence of depression was 7.7 %. Logistic regression analysis indicated a positive association between long working hours and depression [OR = 1.738, 95 CI (1.427, 2.117)], and the results were still robust after controlling other confounding factors. RCS models indicated that the high intensity PA group had the lowest risk of depression, followed by low intensity PA group and no PA group.

CONCLUSION

Long working hours probably be associated with depression, while PA can modify the risk to some degree.

Child Gender and Married Women’s Overwork: Evidence from Rural–Urban Migrants in China

Overwork is one of the risk factors for the work-related burden of disease. In China, nearly a quarter of migrant women are overworked. Working long hours can significantly increase the possibility of migrant women suffering from hypertension and hyperglycemia. The phenomenon of overtime work of migrant women and their health conditions deserves attention. Based on the China Migrants Dynamic Survey in 2016, this study indicates that giving birth to a boy may exacerbate overtime work among migrant women and having more boys in a family increases the probability of women’s overwork. Empirical results confirmed the existence of son preferences in China. Compared with women who gave birth to boys, women who gave birth to girls have a lower probability of being a workaholic due to a future fertility plan. Furthermore, the overwork of women is also due to the great economic burden on families to buy a wedding house, brought on by the birth of boys. To overcome the endogenous problem caused by this omitted explanatory variable, this study uses each province’s relative sex ratio at birth in 2010 as the instrumental variable of the firstborn’s gender. The IV results illustrate that the birth of boys still significantly exacerbates women’s overwork. Furthermore, considering age heterogeneity, the influence of son preference on women’s overtime work exists throughout their labor life cycle. This paper provides a new perspective for understanding migrant women’s overtime work and their health issues in urban China.

Comparative Study on Nutrition and Lifestyle of Information Technology Workers from Romania before and during COVID-19 Pandemic

The study aimed to evaluate lifestyle factors among Information Technology (IT) workers from Romania before and during the pandemic. We used an online applied questionnaire, filled in by 1638 respondents, that assessed nutrition status-Body Mass Index (BMI), weight and diet change, physical activity, alcohol consumption, number of hours working in front of the computer, stress, and sleep. Multivariate logistic regression was used to establish the lifestyle factors that lead to weight gain. Although the level of physical activity (PA) was low before the pandemic, the results of our study showed a further decrease in physical activity. In total, 61.1% of men and 71.1% of women performed PA for less than 30 min per day. Weight gain was reported in 50.5% of men and 45.3% of women (mean weight gain was 5.11 ± 3.52 kg) as a result of increased screen time (with a mean of 3.52 ± 4.29 for females and 3.05 ± 2.09 for males, p > 0.05 h per day) and the reported changes in diet. Despite the popularity of home-cooked foods, the intake of vegetables and fruit remained low. The quality of sleep was poor for 55.7% of the respondents. Public health and corporation policies are required to encourage a healthy lifestyle and avoid chronic diseases.