Workplace violence and self-reported physical and mental health: a national cross-sectional study in Lebanon.

The prevalence of workplace violence among employed adults in Lebanon was approximately 16%.

• Almost 16% of participants experienced at least one form of WPV in the past six months.
• WPV was defined as having experienced at least one incident of physical or psychological violence in the past six months.
• The study enrolled 3076 employed participants with a median age of 37 years (interquartile range = 28-46).
• Of participants, 30.5% had completed college or postgraduate education and 24.9% were non-Lebanese.

High proportions of employed adults in Lebanon reported depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and poor physical health.

• 33.4% of participants experienced depressive symptoms as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9.
• 25.5% of participants experienced anxiety symptoms as measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7.
• 75.7% of participants reported poor physical health as measured by the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global Health 1.2 scale.

Exposure to workplace violence was associated with approximately tripled odds of depressive symptoms.

• Adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 3.00; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.40-3.70.
• The model adjusted for age, sex, education, nationality, marital status, urbanicity, and job sector.
• Covariates were identified through directed acyclic graphs.
• Depressive symptoms were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9.

Exposure to workplace violence was associated with approximately tripled odds of anxiety symptoms.

• Adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 3.01; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.41-3.72.
• The model adjusted for age, sex, education, nationality, marital status, urbanicity, and job sector.
• Anxiety symptoms were measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale.
• This association was nearly identical in magnitude to that observed for depressive symptoms (aOR = 3.00).

Exposure to workplace violence was associated with nearly tripled odds of poor physical health.

• Adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.82; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.04-3.98.
• The model adjusted for age, sex, education, nationality, marital status, urbanicity, and job sector.
• Poor physical health was measured using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global Health 1.2 scale.
• The confidence interval for this outcome was wider than those for the mental health outcomes, suggesting greater statistical uncertainty.

The study was conducted using a national cross-sectional design with random digit dialling in Lebanon from January to July 2024.

• Participants were working-age residents of Lebanon recruited through random digit dialling.
• Data were collected from January to July 2024.
• 3076 employed participants were enrolled.
• Adjusted logistic regression models were used, with covariates identified through directed acyclic graphs.
• Three separate adjusted logistic regression models were constructed, one for each outcome.