Factors associated with being granted a pension among psychiatric outpatients with major depression

Background: Little is known about factors associated with early retirement due to major depression in naturalistic settings. We examined to what extent major depression leads to disability pension and whether there are any associated factors with being granted a pension. Methods: In our retrospective document-based cohort study of 213 adult psychiatric outpatients with first-time documented DSM-III-R major depression, several sociodemographic, clinical and treatment characteristics were detected during the follow-up time of 3 months of medical care in Finland. This information was related to official registers of granted pensions with a follow-up time of 30 months. Results: Forty-six (21.6%) patients were granted a pension during the follow-up period. Greater age, comorbidity and lowered self-esteem were strongly associated with being granted a pension. Discussion: Some risk factors associated with subsequent retirement could be identified at the early phase of the illness.