Psychiatric Morbidity in a Normal Work Force Population

There are a number of studies which have shown the prevalence of psychiatric symptomatology in psychiatric/medical interface disorders in non-psychiatric populations and many of them now form the basis of accepted standardised rating scale procedures for psychiatric pathology. However, these selected populations are usually students, criminals or Service personnel. Surveys of psychiatric status by employment groups have been uncommon and yet there is considerable circumstantial evidence of work-associated disabling psychiatric symptom clusters interfering with personal, social and occupational efficiency. Thus 37,000,000 working days were lost in 1977 from diagnosed psychiatric illness in the U.K. and probably a larger number via psychosomatic illness such as skin disorders, gastro-intestinal dysfunction and vague, non-specific C.N.S. disease, and these would appear to be definitely on the increase. Sickness absence figures for the U.K. showed an increase of 22% over the preceding 15 years and the number of days lost due to classifiable psychosis and neurosis increased by 152% in males and 302% in females over the same period.