SPECIAL SEMINAR INFLUENCE OF URBAN VIOLENCE AND SOCIAL DEPRIVATION ON THE OCCURRENCE OF COMMON MENTAL DISORDERS (ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, EXCESSIVE USE OF ALCOHOL) IN THE RMSP

The professor and assistant physician of the Institute of Psychiatry of the HC-FMUSP, Laura Helena SG Andrade (medical residency and PhD in Psychiatry at USP and postdoctoral fellow at the Dept. of Mental Health Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health), will present the seminar in which she addressed the results of a research on inequalities and mental illness: “Influence of violence and social deprivation in the occurrence of common mental disorders (anxiety, depression, use and alcohol) in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo.” The event is part of the series of special seminars with special guests of CEM, one of the CEPAPs financed by FAPESP.

Abstract: From the results of the São Paulo Megacity survey, the phenomenon of high psychiatric morbidity observed in the urban environment was addressed. We found prevalence of mental disorders at higher levels than similar surveys conducted in other areas of the world, with 30% of participants having an active mental disorder, with one third of cases reporting some degree of impairment at work or personal relationships. More than half the cases of anxiety have an early onset before the age of 20. 

Depression also begins early, with 25% of cases starting before age 20. Alcohol-related deleterious patterns associated with various unfavorable health outcomes are highly prevalent in the young population. People who reported having grown up in urban settings and those who were exposed to urban violence were more likely to have a mental disorder, particularly mood disorders (depression), anxiety disorders, and impulse control. Substance use disorder was more frequent in residents of regions with high social deprivation. These data place Brazil among the countries with the highest rates of mental disorders. Urgent action on prevention and treatment is urgently needed. Our objective is, from these results, to discuss the methodology of the research, its limitations and ways of overcoming them from interdisciplinary approaches.

Profile of the lecturer: Laura Helena SG Andrade holds a medical degree, a medical residency and a doctorate in psychiatry from the University of São Paulo and a postdoctoral degree from the Department of Mental Health Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. Assistant physician of the Institute of Psychiatry of HC-FMUSP, coordinates the Nucleus of Psychiatric Epidemiology.