8291200 Neurodivergent, other disabled and non-disabled working age people: A latent class analysis of patterns of employment and mental health

<h3>Objective</h3> This study aimed to explore and compare patterns of employment and mental health between neurodivergent, other disabled and non-disabled people of working-age. While work is a recognised social determinant of health, its effects can be amplified for disabled people of working age, and particularly neurodivergent people. Yet, within the sparse number of studies focussing on neurodivergent people, confirmatory type analyses mainly restrict their focus to loneliness and isolation as mental health indicators for this cohort. <h3>Material and Methods</h3> We used UK Biobank data of all working age (40-64 years old, n=289,295) adults at baseline. We divided participants in three categories - neurodivergent, other disabled and non-disabled- and performed exploratory latent class analysis to identify patterns of employment and mental health. Class prevalences were compared between groups, after adjusting for age, gender, educational qualification and area population density. We complemented the analysis with identifying mean age at diagnosis for neurodivergent people and regressing it to investigate their likelihood to be in employment. <h3>Results</h3> Latent class analysis resulted in a five-class model ranging from employed with low mental health issues to unemployed with high mental health issues. Compared to the other groups, neurodivergent were mostly prevalent in the unemployed and high mental health issues class. Findings demonstrated a positive impact of higher educational qualification and living in urban areas on employment and mental health. The high average age of diagnosis (54.67± 9.57 years), exacerbated low employment and mental health conditions. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Our findings demonstrate that neurodivergent are disadvantaged in terms of employment and mental health issues. This is exacerbated by challenges associated with receiving a late diagnosis and late support during their educational path. The results are highly relevant for current policy debates and highlight the need for urgent interventions targeting health, employment and education policies and practices for this group.