Mood spectrum symptoms in a sample of workers complaining occupational stress: correlations with post-traumatic stress spectrum symptoms

BACKGROUND: Post-traumatic stress diseases have been recently applied to understand the impact of work-related stress, but the frequent symptoms overlap and comorbidity with mood disorders induced authors to better investigate the relationship between these disorders with particular attention to gender differences. METHODS: Authors collected socio-demographic, occupational, and clinical data of 345 subjects who presented at the Occupational Health Department of a university hospital over a 3-year-period (2016-2018). Study sample fulfilled the Trauma and Loss Spectrum-Self Report (TA LS-SR) and the Mood Spectrum-Self Report (MOODS-SR), lifetime version. RESULTS: Women reported significant higher rates in the following TALS-SR domains: loss events (P=0.000), grief reactions (P=0.018), emotional, physical and cognitive responses to traumas (P=0.011) and in the following MOODSSR domain: rhythmicity and vegetative functions (P=0.000). A multiple linear regression model identified the following TALS-SR domains: emotional, physical and cognitive responses to traumas and maladaptive coping as significant predictors of MOOD-SR total score. In the end were evidenced strong positive correlations between TA LS-SR total score and the depressive mood (R=0.561), depressive cognition (R=0.582) and rhythmicity and vegetative functions (R=0.500) domains of the MOOD-SR. CONCLUSIONS: Noteworthy correlations between the two psychopathological dimensions emerged and this could bring to a better understanding of the mutual impact of both mood and post-traumatic stress symptoms on physical health in the contest of occupational stress.