Status: 02/25/2023 12:54 p.m
The health insurance company KKH has presented figures on mental illnesses. It is striking that in the past year there were significantly more sick leave due to depression or anxiety disorders – especially among men. According to KKH, this is a consequence of the Corona crisis.
According to figures from the health insurance company KKH, the number of sick leave due to mental illnesses has increased significantly in the past year. The health insurance registered nationwide around 57,500 sick leave with 2.3 million days absent due to mental illness. Compared to 2021, this is an increase of around 16 percent.
According to the KKH, by far the most common were various forms of depression. In addition, chronic exhaustion, anxiety disorders and so-called somatoform disorders – i.e. psychosomatic complaints such as abdominal pain or headaches without an organic cause – caused many days of absence, the KKH explained.
Greater increase in men than women
It is striking that women are still much more likely to be on sick leave because of mental illnesses than men, but the gap is narrowing. In men, the KKH recorded a significantly larger increase in all diagnoses than in women, especially in anxiety disorders and somatoform disorders. In the case of anxiety disorders, for example, the plus was more than 40 percent for men and a good 19 percent for women.
Lack of exercise with negative consequences
The KKH attributes the increase primarily to the effects of the corona pandemic. They would hardly have shown themselves in the first two Corona years, but all the more clearly in the third Corona year.
“It is above all the consequences of the restrictions during the Corona crisis that are now obviously making themselves felt mentally in men,” explained KKH occupational psychologist Antje Judick. Men who were previously involved in club or team sports reduced their physical activity to a minimum during the pandemic. “The resulting lack of exercise and the lack of social exchange seem to have had a lasting negative effect on the psyche, i.e. on drive and motivation and the general mood,” explained Judick.
“Very high level of suffering” in men
In addition, there are the economic consequences of the Ukraine war, especially inflation. “Since men are often more concerned about their job prospects and the economic situation of their families than women, they may suffer particularly badly from existential fears,” explained the KKH expert. Women, on the other hand, more often stated the balancing act between job, childcare and relatives in need of care as the cause of psychological stress. This problem already existed before Corona, and the pandemic exacerbated it, according to the KKH expert.
“The fact that the men are now catching up so much shows that they are suffering at a very high level,” said Judick. As a rule, men are no less ill than women. “But they tend to suppress health issues and often see a doctor’s visit as the last option.” Women, on the other hand, are more willing to get medical help and therefore receive more diagnoses.
Sick longer than other diseases
On average, mentally ill people are on sick leave for 39.5 days a year, longer than for all illnesses with an average of 13.1 days absent. Of all KKH-insured persons, employees from the fields of nursing, education and social work, trade and public administration were most frequently affected.
According to its own statements, the KKH commercial health insurance company is one of the largest nationwide statutory health insurance companies with around 1.6 million insured persons. For the statistics, the health insurance company evaluated the number of calendar days with a medical certificate from its compulsorily and voluntarily insured members – excluding the unemployed and pensioners.