[Religious affiliation and mental health in Brazil]

Religiosity is a complex and fundamental socio-cultural phenomenon. Its possible positive or negative influence on the ethiology and treatment of mental illness remains controversial. Evangelical sects, specially the Pentecostals, have expanded dramatically in the last 40 years, in Latin America. Until now, the socio-cultural implications of this process have not been systematically studied. In the present study a group of patients admitted to a psychiatric unit in a general hospital in Campinas, Brazil, was investigated. Diagnosis distribution and length of hospital stay was related to religion affiliation. More functional psychosis and a shorter length of stay was found in the Pentecostal group. Possible implications of these findings are critically discussed.