Higher risk of common mental disorders after experiencing physical violence in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: the Pró-Saúde Study.

BACKGROUND

In Brazil, violence is a major public health problem. However, up until now, the extent to which violence acts as a risk factor for mental disorders has not been investigated prospectively.

AIMS: We determined the risk of common mental disorders (CMD) associated with personal experience with physical violence (PV).

METHODS

A cohort of 3253 public employees in Rio de Janeiro completed questionnaires that measured CMD (GHQ-12), experience with PV and stressful life events (SLE).

RESULTS

After adjusting for age, income and SLE, those who experienced PV in either 1999 or 2001 and those who experienced PV in both years had, respectively, 1.2-fold (95% CI; 1.0-1.4) and 2.1-fold (1.6-2.6) increased risks of CMD.

CONCLUSION

Direct exposure to violence may act cumulatively on the risk of developing CMD. The absence of association for reporting CMD both in 1999 and 2001 suggests that other determinants may be more relevant for chronic mental disorders.