Differences in Depression and Anxiety Symptom Networks Between Food Delivery Riders and Goods Couriers - China, 2022

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Mental Health Research
• Gig Economy Studies

Background:

• Platform workers' mental health is a growing global issue.
• Prevalence rates for depression and anxiety in this population exceed those in the general workforce.
• Existing research highlights the significant mental health burden on platform workers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms among platform-delivery workers.
• To identify central and bridging symptoms within depression and anxiety networks for goods couriers and food delivery riders.
• To inform targeted public health interventions for platform worker mental well-being.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study analyzing depressive and anxiety symptoms in platform-delivery workers.
• Prevalence estimation using 95% confidence intervals.
• Network analysis to identify symptom centrality and bridging roles, differentiating between goods couriers and food delivery riders.

Main Results:

• Overall prevalence of depressive symptoms was 22.7% and anxiety symptoms was 10.4%.
• Food delivery riders exhibited significantly higher prevalence of depression and anxiety compared to goods couriers.
• Motor disturbance was the most central symptom for both groups; uncontrollable worry and fatigue were key for food delivery riders and goods couriers, respectively. Suicide ideation acted as a crucial bridging symptom.

Conclusions:

• Platform-delivery workers, particularly food delivery riders, face substantial mental health challenges.
• Symptom network analysis reveals distinct patterns for different worker groups, with motor disturbance and suicide ideation being critical.
• Tailored interventions addressing specific symptom clusters are recommended to improve mental health outcomes in this vulnerable occupational group.