Abstract
Major problems for conducting screening for mental disorders in the workplace include low screening efficiency and a lack of evidence on effectiveness. Segmentation of the target population and utilization of stratum-specific likelihood ratios (SSLRs) would be key efforts to solve these problems. Depressive disorder is a high-priority disorder for workplace screening because there is evidence that appropriate care would provide benefits for the workplace as well as the person with the disorder. Recently, autism spectrum disorders and adjustment disorders have been attracting attention as screening target disorders in the workplace. Autism spectrum disorders have been acknowledged as a more common disorder than previously recognized, and individuals with autism spectrum disorders are at a high risk of associated psychiatric disorders, particularly intractable depression. Adjustment disorder is also considered to be a common work-related mental health problem, and it is associated with long-term absence due to illness and disability. If stressful work environments are properly re-designed, the prognosis of adjustment disorders could be improved, and unnecessary absence due to illness and disability could be avoided as a result. Further research is necessary to establish the performance of a screening instrument such as SSLR and to test the effectiveness of workplace screening for mental disorders by taking into account the target disorders as well as the target population.
