Links between social class and common mental disorders in Northeast Brazil

Background: Social class is an important aspect of all societies. Social cl ass differences in the prevalence of common mental disorder are likely to v ary according to time, culture and stage of economic development. The prese nt study aimed to investigate the intermediaries between social class and c ommon mental disorder in a deprived area of Northeast Brazil. The Self Repo rting Questionnaire (SRQ) was used to estimate the prevalence of common men tal disorder. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted of 683 adults, aged 15 years and over, living in a random sample of private households in area II of Olinda, Recife Metropolitan Region, Pernambuco, Brazil. Results : Poor education (odds ratio, OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.2-5.2; <5 years vs greater t han or equal to 11 years education) and low income (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.0-5.6; less than or equal to1/4 minimum wage vs >1 minimum wage) were independent ly associated with the prevalence of common mental disorder. Univariate ass ociations with occupation, housing conditions and possession of household a ppliances could be understood in part by their association with poor educat ion. Conclusions: Brazil has the second most unequal distribution of income in the world, Disparity in educational attainment could be one of the most important -factors perpetuating social inequalities in psychiatric disorde r in the country.