ArticleEpidemiology and psychiatric sciences2026
Onset of exposure to workplace bullying and incident treatment with psychotropic medication - an emulated target trial with 25 309 Swedish and Danish employees.
Article in Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Exposure to workplace bullying and violence/threats of violence and subsequent working life expectancy among older workers: A Swedish prospective cohort study.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsExposure to workplace bullying is associated with an increased risk of mental health conditions, yet it is debated whether the association is causal. This study aims to address this by examining whether onset of workplace bullying is associated with initiating treatment with psychotropic medication, here used as a proxy measure for onset of common mental disorders.
methodsWe used two longitudinal datasets from Sweden and Denmark (mean age: 47.4, women: 52.8%), combined with national registry data on psychotropic medication purchases. Using a target trial approach, the study population (
resultsIn total, 1490 individuals (5.9%) experienced onset of workplace bullying. Bullying onset was associated with incident treatment with any psychotropic medication (HR: 1.42, 95% CI 1.15-1.77, model adjusted for sociodemographic variables). This association was attenuated in the fully adjusted model (HR: 1.24, 95% CI 0.99-1.53). In analyses focusing on antidepressant treatment, the estimates were stronger (HR: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.15-2.09, fully adjusted model). The results further demonstrated an exposure-response relationship, such that higher frequency of bullying exposure was associated with an increased risk of initiating any psychotropic treatment and antidepressants.
conclusionsIndividuals experiencing onset of workplace bullying were at higher risk of starting antidepressant treatment within 2 years. This is the first study showing that onset of workplace bullying can contribute to the development of mental health conditions requiring medical treatment. These results underline the importance of preventive interventions that reduce workplace bullying.
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