The impact of psychosocial work conditions on attempted and completed suicide among western Canadian sawmill workers

Background: Using a large cohort of western Canadian sawmill workers (n=28,794), the association between psychosocial work conditions and attempted and completed suicide was investigated. Methods: Records of attempted and completed suicide were accessed through a provincial hospital discharge registry to identify cases that were then matched using a nested case control method. Psychosocial work conditions were estimated by expert raters using the demand - control model. Univariate and multivariate conditional logistic regression was used to estimate the association between work conditions and suicide. Results: In multivariate models, controlling for sociodemographic ( marital status, ethnicity) and occupational confounders ( job mobility and duration), low psychological demand was associated with increased odds for completed suicide, and low social support was associated with increased odds for attempted suicides. Conclusions: This study indicates that workers with poor psychosocial working conditions may be at increased risk of both attempted and completed suicide.