bc8dbcbe18922d66854bdc2660162066 Mental-Health-Related_TemporaryWork_Disability_Among.pdf 20fdcfb5b67ff43e327eb8c926003818612813e6 Mental-Health-Related_TemporaryWork_Disability_Among.pdf 21107008720f5cfefeb58d46a1fdaa4dfc795bbfa05dc22caaa17f9b6dbfc6dc Mental-Health-Related_TemporaryWork_Disability_Among.pdf Title: Mental-Health-Related Temporary Work Disability Among Informal Caregivers During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Spain (March–June 2020): A Nationwide Occupational Health Study Subject: Background/Objectives: During the first COVID-19 lockdown, the sudden disruption of formal care services substantially increased reliance on informal caregiving. Emerging evidence suggests that increased caregiving demands may have contributed to a higher burden of mental-health-related temporary work disability; however, population-based data from occupational health systems remain limited. This study aimed to quantify and characterise, descriptively, the sociodemographic, clinical, and territorial characteristics of mental-health-related temporary work disability among workers with informal caregiving responsibilities in Spain during the first COVID-19 lockdown, and to descriptively examine differences between episodes occurring among workers with and without caregiving responsibilities. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted using anonymised nationwide occupational health records from Mutua Asepeyo. All episodes of temporary work disability certified for mental and behavioural disorders (ICD-10 F00–F99) between 14 March and 21 June 2020 were analysed. Caregiver status was determined based on documented informal caregiving responsibilities recorded within the occupational disability records. Sociodemographic, occupational, clinical, and territorial variables were examined using descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests. Results: A total of 2857 caregiver-associated episodes were identified, representing 55.6% (95% CI: 54.2–57.0) of all mental-health-related temporary work disability episodes during the study period. The majority involved women (68.1%) and caregivers of older dependent adults (59.3%). Generalised anxiety disorder was the most frequent diagnosis, followed by adjustment disorders and acute stress reactions, with significant differences by sex and employment regime. Marked territorial variability was observed, as well as longer durations of temporary work disability in specific regions and among women. Conclusions: A substantial proportion of mental-health-related temporary work disability episodes during the lockdown occurred among workers with informal caregiving responsibilities, particularly women and those caring for older dependents. These findings suggest that informal caregiving may be a determinant of occupational mental health during crises. However, given the descriptive and unadjusted nature of the study, no causal inferences can be drawn. Further research is needed to understand these associations better and inform future occupational health strategies. Keywords: informal caregivers; temporary work disability; mental health; occupational health; COVID-19 lockdown Author: Eva María Gutiérrez Naharro, José Fernández Sáez, Raquel Ayuso Margañon, Ana María Montserrat Gala, José Ponce Blandón and Amalia Sillero Sillero Creator: LaTeX with hyperref Producer: pdfTeX-1.40.25; modified using OpenPDF 1.4.2 CreationDate: Wed May 13 12:49:28 2026 CEST ModDate: Wed May 13 13:38:18 2026 CEST Custom Metadata: yes Metadata Stream: no Tagged: no UserProperties: no Suspects: no Form: none JavaScript: no Pages: 16 Encrypted: no Page size: 595.276 x 841.89 pts (A4) Page rot: 0 File size: 706874 bytes Optimized: no PDF version: 1.7 name type encoding emb sub uni object ID ------------------------------------ ----------------- ---------------- --- --- --- --------- NOEBRP+URWPalladioL-Bold Type 1 Custom yes yes yes 145 0 ZYLFBS+URWPalladioL-Roma Type 1 Custom yes yes yes 146 0 AIRHKL+VnURWPalladioL Type 1 Custom yes yes yes 147 0 GPBWMV+URWPalladioL-Ital Type 1 Custom yes yes yes 148 0 JLZORU+EURM10 Type 1 Builtin yes yes yes 252 0 WBVKDJ+URWPalladioL-BoldItal Type 1 Custom yes yes yes 266 0 MKCAAB+PalatinoLinotype,Italic TrueType WinAnsi yes yes no 244 0 MKBPPP+PalatinoLinotype TrueType WinAnsi yes yes no 245 0 MKBPPN+PalatinoLinotype,Bold TrueType WinAnsi yes yes no 246 0 PDTLUH+CMSY10 Type 1 Builtin yes yes yes 311 0 MKCAAB+PalatinoLinotype,Italic TrueType WinAnsi yes yes no 301 0 MKBPPP+PalatinoLinotype TrueType WinAnsi yes yes no 302 0 MKBPPN+PalatinoLinotype,Bold TrueType WinAnsi yes yes no 303 0 Jhove (Rel. 1.28.0, 2023-05-18) Date: 2026-09-26 03:59:51 CEST RepresentationInformation: Mental-Health-Related_TemporaryWork_Disability_Among.pdf ReportingModule: PDF-hul, Rel. 1.12.4 (2023-03-16) LastModified: 2026-09-25 05:48:01 CEST Size: 706874 Format: PDF Version: 1.7 Status: Well-Formed and valid SignatureMatches: PDF-hul MIMEtype: application/pdf PDFMetadata: Objects: 492 FreeObjects: 1 IncrementalUpdates: 0 DocumentCatalog: ViewerPreferences: HideToolbar: false HideMenubar: false HideWindowUI: false FitWindow: true CenterWindow: false DisplayDocTitle: false NonFullScreenPageMode: UseNone Direction: L2R ViewArea: CropBox ViewClip: CropBox PrintArea: CropBox PageClip: CropBox PageLayout: SinglePage PageMode: UseNone Outlines: Item: Title: Introduction Item: Title: Materials and Methods Children: Item: Title: Study Design and Setting Item: Title: Participants Item: Title: Variables Item: Title: Statistical Analysis Item: Title: Ethical Considerations Item: Title: Results Children: Item: Title: Sociodemographic and Occupational Characteristics Item: Title: Prevalence and Territorial Distribution Item: Title: Mental Health Diagnoses by Sex (n = 5135) Item: Title: Mental Health Diagnoses by Employment Regime Item: Title: Mean Duration of Temporary Work Disability (Days) by Autonomous Community and Sex Item: Title: Discussion Children: Item: Title: Informal Caregiving and Mental-Health-Related Work Disability Item: Title: Sex Differences and Differential Exposure to Caregiving Demands Item: Title: Eldercare and Intensified Care Demands Item: Title: Employment Regime and Mental Health Vulnerability Item: Title: Territorial Variability Item: Title: Chronic Disease, Psychiatric History, and Accumulated Vulnerability Item: Title: Clinical and Occupational Health Implications Item: Title: Strengths and Limitations Item: Title: Conclusions Item: Title: References Info: Title: Mental-Health-Related Temporary Work Disability Among Informal Caregivers During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Spain (March–June 2020): A Nationwide Occupational Health Study Author: Eva María Gutiérrez Naharro, José Fernández Sáez, Raquel Ayuso Margañon, Ana María Montserrat Gala, José Ponce Blandón and Amalia Sillero Sillero Subject: Background/Objectives: During the first COVID-19 lockdown, the sudden disruption of formal care services substantially increased reliance on informal caregiving. Emerging evidence suggests that increased caregiving demands may have contributed to a higher burden of mental-health-related temporary work disability; however, population-based data from occupational health systems remain limited. This study aimed to quantify and characterise, descriptively, the sociodemographic, clinical, and territorial characteristics of mental-health-related temporary work disability among workers with informal caregiving responsibilities in Spain during the first COVID-19 lockdown, and to descriptively examine differences between episodes occurring among workers with and without caregiving responsibilities. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted using anonymised nationwide occupational health records from Mutua Asepeyo. All episodes of temporary work disability certified for mental and behavioural disorders (ICD-10 F00–F99) between 14 March and 21 June 2020 were analysed. Caregiver status was determined based on documented informal caregiving responsibilities recorded within the occupational disability records. Sociodemographic, occupational, clinical, and territorial variables were examined using descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests. Results: A total of 2857 caregiver-associated episodes were identified, representing 55.6% (95% CI: 54.2–57.0) of all mental-health-related temporary work disability episodes during the study period. The majority involved women (68.1%) and caregivers of older dependent adults (59.3%). Generalised anxiety disorder was the most frequent diagnosis, followed by adjustment disorders and acute stress reactions, with significant differences by sex and employment regime. Marked territorial variability was observed, as well as longer durations of temporary work disability in specific regions and among women. Conclusions: A substantial proportion of mental-health-related temporary work disability episodes during the lockdown occurred among workers with informal caregiving responsibilities, particularly women and those caring for older dependents. These findings suggest that informal caregiving may be a determinant of occupational mental health during crises. However, given the descriptive and unadjusted nature of the study, no causal inferences can be drawn. Further research is needed to understand these associations better and inform future occupational health strategies. 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