Common mental health problems in rural-to-urban migrant workers in Shenzhen, China: prevalence and risk factors

Jan 10, 2017Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences

Common mental health problems and their risk factors in rural-to-urban migrant workers in Shenzhen, China

AI simplified

Longevity & Aging on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Abstract

The prevalence of common mental health problems among Chinese migrant workers is 34.4%.

Risk factors for common mental health problems include being aged 16-25 or 26-35 years.
Low monthly income and poor living conditions are associated with higher rates of common mental health problems.
Physical illness in the past two weeks is linked to an increased risk of common mental health problems.
Working in multiple cities and infrequent visits to hometown are also associated with higher prevalence.
Poor Mandarin proficiency and a low perception of the benefits of migration may contribute to common mental health problems.
Working more than 8 hours a day is associated with a higher likelihood of experiencing common mental health problems.

AI simplified

AIMS: Rural-to-urban migrant workers are a large marginalised population in urban China. Prevalence estimates of common mental health problems (CMHPs) in previous studies varied widely and very few studies have investigated migration-related factors of CMHPs in migrant workers. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of CMHPs among Chinese migrant workers.

METHODS: A random sample of 3031 migrant workers of ten manufacturing factories in Shenzhen, China, completed a standardised questionnaire containing socio-demographic and migration-related variables and the Chinese 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). A GHQ-12 score of three or higher was used to denote the presence of CMHPs.

RESULTS: The prevalence of CMHPs was 34.4% in Chinese migrant workers. In multiple logistic regression, risk factors for CMHPs included being 16-25 years old (odd ratio [OR] 1.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.28, 2.12), being 26-35 years old (OR 1.36, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.75), low monthly income (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.04, 1.92), poor living condition (OR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.22, 2.54), physical illness in the past 2 weeks (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.43, 2.05), having worked in many cities (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.03, 1.74), infrequently visiting hometown (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.22, 1.99), poor Mandarin proficiency (OR 1.51, 95%CI 1.13, 2.01), a low level of perceived benefits of migration (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.14, 1.55) and working more than 8 h/day (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.14, 1.70).

CONCLUSIONS: CMHPs are very prevalent among Chinese migrant workers. Given the large number of Chinese migrant workers, there is an urgent need to address the mental health burden of China's migrant worker population.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View full text ↗

Common mental health problems in rural-to-urban migrant workers in Shenzhen, China: prevalence and risk factors

Abstract

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the longevity & aging brief

Abstract

Full Text

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the longevity & aging brief