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Use of psychotropic drugs among workers on leave due to mental disorders
Fabiana Vieira Garcia Leão1, Alessandra Rezende Mesquita2, Luciana Gonçalves de Oliveira Gotelipe1
1Departamento de Atenção à Saúde do Trabalhador , Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais , Belo Horizonte , MG , Brazil .
Objective:
To describe the use of psychotropic drugs among civil servants with registered absenteeism due to mental disorders, and to investigate associations with duration of leave of absence.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study with civil servants on leave of absence due to mental disorders, between January and December 2017. Demographic, occupational and clinical variables were extracted from secondary data. Non-parametric tests were used to investigate correlations between use of psychotropic drugs and leave duration. Cluster analysis was used to investigate associations between occupational characteristics and illness profile.
Results:
Antidepressants were the most commonly used drugs (82.9%). Central tendency values for days on leave differed according to the number of psychotropic drugs used. In cluster analysis, a particular cluster (servants of intermediate age group and work experience - mean of 46 years and 15 years, respectively) stood out regarding use of antidepressants, severity of depression and frequency and duration of leave of absence.
Conclusion:
Leave of absence due to mental disorders was associated with higher rates of psychotropic drug use. The group of servants identified in this study may be a primary target for health promotion, prevention and recovery actions at the organization.
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