Depression causes one in four sick days in Spain

DEPRESSION is responsible for one in four sick days in Spain.

The condition was responsible for 24.4% of lost work days last month in the south European region, which also includes Portugal and Italy.

And anxiety was named as the reason a further 16.8% of workers took sick leave in the southern zone, part of the worst affected region for mental health-induced work absences.

According to the Instituto Hospital del Mar de Investigaciones Médicas,  which conducted the study, a total of 36.3% sick days in the region were caused by mental health issues.

Poor mental health caused 27.5% of lost work days in ‘central east’ region of Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands and Northern Ireland and 9.8% in Bulgaria and Romania.