Hospitalization Risk Before and After Employment Among Adults With Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, or Major...

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Mental Health Research
• Health Services Research

Background:

• The relationship between employment and psychiatric hospitalization for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) remains unclear.
• Previous research has not definitively established whether employment influences the likelihood of psychiatric readmission for this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of employment on subsequent psychiatric hospitalization among adults with serious mental illness.
• To determine if unemployed individuals with SMI are more or less likely to be hospitalized after securing employment.

Main Methods:

• A secondary analysis of data from the Mental Health Treatment Study was performed.
• Prospective employment and psychiatric hospitalization outcomes over two years were examined for 2,055 adults diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression.
• Multilevel regression with time-lagged modeling was used to analyze the associations between employment status and psychiatric hospitalization.

Main Results:

• Employment was significantly associated with a reduced risk of psychiatric hospitalization within a three-month period (odds ratio = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.50–0.84).
• This association remained significant after adjusting for baseline characteristics, including prior psychiatric hospitalizations and self-reported physical health status.

Conclusions:

• Unemployed outpatients diagnosed with serious mental illness demonstrated a lower likelihood of psychiatric hospitalization after obtaining employment.
• Employment appears to be a protective factor against psychiatric hospitalization for individuals with SMI.