{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T17:19:18Z","timestamp":1778692758620,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778630400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: During the first COVID-19 lockdown, the sudden disruption of formal care services substantially increased reliance on informal caregiving. Emerging evidence suggests that increased caregiving demands may have contributed to a higher burden of mental-health-related temporary work disability; however, population-based data from occupational health systems remain limited. This study aimed to quantify and characterise, descriptively, the sociodemographic, clinical, and territorial characteristics of mental-health-related temporary work disability among workers with informal caregiving responsibilities in Spain during the first COVID-19 lockdown, and to descriptively examine differences between episodes occurring among workers with and without caregiving responsibilities. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted using anonymised nationwide occupational health records from Mutua Asepeyo. All episodes of temporary work disability certified for mental and behavioural disorders (ICD-10 F00\u2013F99) between 14 March and 21 June 2020 were analysed. Caregiver status was determined based on documented informal caregiving responsibilities recorded within the occupational disability records. Sociodemographic, occupational, clinical, and territorial variables were examined using descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests. Results: A total of 2857 caregiver-associated episodes were identified, representing 55.6% (95% CI: 54.2\u201357.0) of all mental-health-related temporary work disability episodes during the study period. The majority involved women (68.1%) and caregivers of older dependent adults (59.3%). Generalised anxiety disorder was the most frequent diagnosis, followed by adjustment disorders and acute stress reactions, with significant differences by sex and employment regime. Marked territorial variability was observed, as well as longer durations of temporary work disability in specific regions and among women. Conclusions: A substantial proportion of mental-health-related temporary work disability episodes during the lockdown occurred among workers with informal caregiving responsibilities, particularly women and those caring for older dependents. These findings suggest that informal caregiving may be a determinant of occupational mental health during crises. However, given the descriptive and unadjusted nature of the study, no causal inferences can be drawn. Further research is needed to understand these associations better and inform future occupational health strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15103746","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T16:26:37Z","timestamp":1778689597000},"page":"3746","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Mental-Health-Related Temporary Work Disability Among Informal Caregivers During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Spain (March\u2013June 2020): A Nationwide Occupational Health Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-1897-5949","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eva Mar\u00eda","family":"Guti\u00e9rrez Naharro","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Nursing Department, Escola Universit\u00e0ria Gimbernat, Adscrita a Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, 08174 Sant Cugat del Vall\u00e8s, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6717-7674","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos\u00e9","family":"Fern\u00e1ndez S\u00e1ez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultat d\u2019Infermeria, Campus Terres de l\u2019Ebre, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43500 Tarragona, Spain"},{"name":"Servei d\u2019Atenci\u00f3 Prim\u00e0ria Terres de l\u2019Ebre, Institut Catal\u00e0 de la Salut, 43500 Tarragona, Spain"},{"name":"Unitat de Suport a la Recerca Terres de l\u2019Ebre, Fundaci\u00f3 Institut Universitari per a la Recerca a l\u2019Atenci\u00f3 Prim\u00e0ria de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), 43500 Tarragona, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1824-6864","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Raquel","family":"Ayuso Marga\u00f1on","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Social Determinants and Health Education Research Group (SDHEd), Hospital del Mar Research Institute, 08003 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Hospital del Mar Nursing School (ESIHMar), Universitat Pompeu Fabra-Affiliated, 08003 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ana Mar\u00eda","family":"Montserrat Gala","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1422-7807","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos\u00e9","family":"Ponce Bland\u00f3n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Podiatry, University of Seville, 41009 Seville, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6158-161X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amalia","family":"Sillero Sillero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nursing Department, Escola Universit\u00e0ria Gimbernat, Adscrita a Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, 08174 Sant Cugat del Vall\u00e8s, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zarzycki, M., Vilchinsky, N., Bei, E., Ferraris, G., Seddon, D., and Morrison, V. 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