The Association Between PHQ-9 and Fitness for Work Among Depressive Patients.

Abstract

One of the tools to assess depression severity is the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Our aim was to investigate the correlation between PHQ-9 scores and fitness for work (FFW) in major depressive disorder (MDD). A cross-sectional study in patients who were evaluated for their FFW and later compared with PHQ-9. Questionnaires were collected for 125 patients. A negative correlation between depression severity and absolute working ability (WA) was found for both women (β = -0.4, P < 0.001) and men (β = -0.4, P = 0.05). Multivariate linear regression revealed a negative correlation between WA and depression severity based on PHQ-9 scores (β = -0.4, P < 0.05). A negative correlation exists between absolute and relative WA and depression severity, meaning, with the higher severity of depression the lower the WA.