COMMON MENTAL DISORDER AND ABUSE OF ALCOHOL AMONG FARMERS IN CAICÓ-RN
Mental disorders, Alcohol abuse, Mental health, Farmers, Rural population
Regarding farmers and rural populations, a difficulty in accessing health services and the higher cost of psychiatric treatments contribute to neglecting some care related to mental health. In addition, the stressful characteristics of the work environment, such as long distances, isolation, difficulty in developing other work activities, the decline in the economy, irregular income and exposure to pesticides are reflected in the development of disorders. We sought to identify the prevalence and factors associated with Common Mental Disorder and alcohol abuse among residents living in a medium-sized municipality in northeastern Brazil, during 2019 and 2020. Trained interviewers applied the standardized questionnaire to 450 participants. Sociodemographic, health, income and work characteristics were investigated. The screening for Common Mental Disorder (CMD) was performed using the SRQ-20 questionnaire (Self-Assessment Questionnaire, with a cut-off point of ≥7 for women, ≥5 for men and ≥4 for elderly of both sexes. the common mental disorder common among farmers was 66% (95% CI 61.47-70.24), being over 60 and having lost production were associated with a higher prevalence of the outcome. health services were associated with a lower prevalence of CMD. Results indicate the importance of social, economic support and health services for this group of workers. Alcohol abuse screening was granted using the CAGE questionnaire (Reduce, Bored with criticism, Guilty and Eye Opener), with a cutoff point ≥ 2. Poisson Regression with robust estimation was applied to check the prevalence ratios (PR) in the bivariate and multivariate analysis. The frequency of alcohol abuse among farmers was 32% (95% CI 27.8-36.4). The prevalence of common mental disorder among farmers was 66% (95% CI 61.47-70.24). Factors such as being male, being over 60 years old, having a diagnosis of mental disorder in the family, having lost crop production, being a smoker and using drugs were associated with a higher prevalence of the outcomes. These results indicate the need for social support for this group of workers in the context of occupational health.