Depression, burnout, anxiety, eating disorders - more and more people are seeking medical help for psychological problems. This is also reflected in the number of sick leave.
Erfurt (dpa/th) - Among those insured by the health insurance company DAK in Thuringia, absenteeism due to depression, anxiety disorders and other mental illnesses has increased by 47 percent within ten years. Last year, there were 275 lost days due to mental illnesses for every 100 people insured with the DAK in Bavaria, according to the health insurance company’s current health report. Ten years earlier it was 187 days per 100 insured persons. In terms of sick leave overall, an increase of only 7 percent was observed during the period.
In 2021, mental illnesses were the second most common reason for sick leave after musculoskeletal disorders and before cardiovascular problems. The latter caused 79 sick days per 100 insured persons. For the report, the sick leave of 50,400 employed DAK insured persons were evaluated. In addition, 200 insured persons were questioned. The health insurance has a total of around 130,000 insured persons in Thuringia. The DAK pointed out that stress and mental illness can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Psychological factors often occur in connection with physical heart risks such as obesity or high blood pressure.
Other insurance companies have also been observing an increase in mental illnesses for years. At Barmer, with around 210,000 insured persons in Thuringia, mental illnesses were also the second most common reason for incapacity to work last year. That's why Barmer insured were missing an average of 4.1 days - this is a higher value than the national average (3.9), said a spokesman.
