Influencia del paro sobre los problemas de salud mental

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between unemployment and mental health problems. DESIGN: Crossover study, using systematic sampling of medical records. SETTING: Health District in the province of Barcelona. PATIENTS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS: 189 medical records from 1,549 unemployed people, and another 189 paired for age and gender of people in work, were included in the study. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The unemployed group had between 1.3% and 18.8% more people with mental health problems than the in-work group. There were no significant differences between the two groups as to their use of primary care health services. CONCLUSIONS: It was established that there is a connection between unemployment and mental health problems. Prospective studies to follow cases might contribute more data on the cause and effect relationship.