Objective Studies exploring occupational exposures comprehensively in association with depression measured using diagnostic instrument are lacking. The present study aimed to examine the associations of occupational exposures with depression in the national French working population.

Methods We used the data from the 2016 SUMER survey including a national representative sample of 25,977 employees, 14,682 men and 11,295 women. The outcome was depression measured using the validated PHQ-9 instrument and algorithm. All types of occupational exposures were studied: psychosocial work factors, working time and hours, and physico-chemical exposures. The exposures-outcome associations were examined using weighted logistic regression analyses for each gender separately. The following covariates were taken into account: age, marital status, occupation, and economic activity of the company.

Results The prevalence of depression was 5.70% for women and 3.78% for men, with a significant difference between genders. Low levels of decision latitude and reward, bullying, work-family conflict and ethical conflict for men and women, and high levels of psychological demands, low levels of social support, and long working hours for women were found to be associated with depression. There was no association between physico-chemical exposures and depression.

Conclusion Our study showed that the main occupational risk factors for depression were psychosocial work exposures. The study had two major strengths: the assessment of the work environment comprehensively and the measurement of depression using a diagnostic instrument and algorithm. Prevention oriented towards the psychosocial work environment may be useful to prevent depression at the workplace.