Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondon, Ecuador.
School of International Studies, Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondon, Ecuador.
PLoS One. 2024 Nov 7;19(11):e0310448. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310448. eCollection 2024.
This study assesses the impact of the age at which individuals first begin working on the odds of developing mental health disorders among older adults in Ecuador.
Data from the 2009 Survey of Health, Well-being, and Aging (SABE) encompassing 3093 elderly participants from mainland Ecuador were analyzed. We employed binary logistic regression to explore the association between the age at which individuals started working and their subsequent mental health status.
Participants who started working between ages 5-12 and 26-35 had lower odds of mental health disorders compared to those who began at ages 18-25, while those who started working between ages 13-17 and 36-80 exhibited higher odds compared to the same baseline group. These associations are net of various demographic and health-related factors.
The results indicate mixed associations between the age at which individuals started working and their mental health outcomes in older age. While some age groups demonstrate lower odds of mental health disorders, others do not, suggesting a complex relationship that warrants further investigation.
This research supports the development of healthcare policies aimed at providing mental health education and services tailored to populations affected by early labor, to mitigate the enduring impacts of child labor on mental health in older age.
本研究评估了个体首次开始工作的年龄对厄瓜多尔老年人心理健康障碍发病几率的影响。
对来自厄瓜多尔大陆的 3093 名老年参与者的 2009 年健康、幸福感和老龄化调查（SABE）数据进行了分析。我们采用二元逻辑回归探讨了个体开始工作的年龄与他们随后的心理健康状况之间的关联。
与 18-25 岁开始工作的人相比，5-12 岁和 26-35 岁开始工作的参与者心理健康障碍的发病几率较低，而 13-17 岁和 36-80 岁开始工作的参与者则较高。这些关联在各种人口统计学和健康相关因素的影响下仍然存在。
结果表明，个体开始工作的年龄与他们在老年时的心理健康结果之间存在混合关联。虽然一些年龄组显示出心理健康障碍的发病几率较低，但其他年龄组则没有，这表明存在复杂的关系，需要进一步研究。
这项研究支持制定医疗保健政策，旨在为受早期劳动影响的人群提供心理健康教育和服务，以减轻童工对老年人心理健康的持久影响。
