Mental disorders in university teachers: study in a service of medical investigation

Abstract

Objective: To verify the types of mental disorders that affects more teachers treated in a service of medical investigation. Method: Retrospective study of documental nature, with quantitative approach, developed in a Higher Education Institution of João Pessoa city – PB. It was composed of 254 records of teachers treated in a service of medical investigation of the institution selected for the study, in the period from January to 1999 to March 2011. Data obtained were analyzed through frequency and percentage. Results: Almost all the sample was composed of female teachers, aged between 40 and 49 years old, and depression was responsible for 52% absenteeism of teachers, followed by schizophrenia (12%), bipolar disorder (10%), acute reaction to stress (8%), anxiety (7%), delusional disorder (4%), and others (8%). Conclusion: The mental disorder that affects more the searched teacher category is depression. Therefore, further investigations are needed to analyze the gravity of this problematic pathology in academic area.