Volz, Hans-PeterBartečků, ElisBartova, LucieBessa, JoãoDe Berardis, DomenicoDragasek, JozefKozhuharov, HristoLadea, MariaLazáry, JuditRoca, MiquelUsov, GrigoryWichniak, AdamGodman, BrianKasper, Siegfried2024-10-042024-10-042022-04-02Volz H-P, Bartečků E, Bartova L, Bessa J, De Berardis D, Dragasek J, et al. Sick leave duration as a potential marker of functionality and disease severity in depression. Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract. 2 apr 2022;1-11.http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13003/18042https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12105/23522Objective: To discuss the impact of depression on work and how depression-related sick leave duration could be a potential indicator and outcome for measuring functionality in depression.Methods: Our review was based on a literature search and expert opinion that emerged during a virtual meeting of European psychiatrists that was convened to discuss this topic.Results: Current evidence demonstrates that depression-related sick leave duration is influenced by multiple disease-, patient- and work-related factors, together with societal attitudes towards depression and socioeconomic conditions. A wide variety of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments and work-based interventions are effective in reducing depression-related sick leave duration and/or facilitating return to work. Recent real-world evidence showed that patients treated with antidepressant monotherapy appear to recover their working life faster than those receiving combination therapy. Although depression-related sick leave duration was found to correlate with severity of depressive symptoms, it cannot be used alone as a viable marker for disease severity.Conclusions: Given its multifactorial nature, depression-related sick leave duration is not on its own a viable outcome measure of depression severity but could be used as a secondary outcome alongside more formal severity measures and may also represent a useful measure of functionality in depression. Key pointsDepression in the working population and depression-related sick leave have a profound economic impact on societyDepression-related sick leave duration is influenced by multiple disease-, patient- and work-related factors, together with societal attitudes towards depression and socioeconomic conditionsA wide variety of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments and work-based interventions have been shown to be effective in reducing depression-related sick leave duration and/or facilitating return to workIn terms of pharmacological intervention, recent real-world evidence has shown that patients treated with antidepressant monotherapy are able to recover their working life faster than those treated with combination therapyAlthough depression-related sick leave duration has been shown to correlate with severity of depressive symptoms, it is not a viable outcome measure of depression severity on its own, but could be used as secondary outcome alongside more formal clinician- and patient-rated severity measuresDepression-related sick leave duration may, however, represent a viable outcome for measuring functionality in depression.enghttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/AbsenteeismDepressionMajor depressive disorderSick leaveresearch articleAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional353736921_1110.1080/13651501.2022.20543501471-1788International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practiceopen access2-s2.0-85129143834777522800001L2015500626