TORONTO, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- A World Health Organization report found poor mental health outcomes are associated with precarious employment, Canadian researchers said.
Dr. Carles Muntaner of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, who conducted research for the WHO report, highlighted the profound impact of employment conditions on health.
When compared with those with full-time work with benefits, workers who report employment insecurity -- temporary contracts or part-time work with low wages and no benefits -- experience significant adverse effects on their physical and mental health.
The research team also found that stress at work is associated with a 50-percent excess risk of coronary heart disease and there is consistent evidence that jobs with high demands, low control and effort-reward imbalance are risk factors for mental and physical health problems such as major depression, anxiety disorders and substance use disorders.
Canada and a number of other wealthy countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and New Zealand face similar challenges, because there's a greater tolerance for inequities than in countries such as Sweden and Denmark, Muntaner said.
The report was presented to WHO's director general and at Fifth World Conference on the Promotion of Mental Health and the Prevention of Mental and Behavioral Disorders in Melbourne.
