Prevalence of anxiety disorders as a cause of workers’ absence

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyze the prevalence of various anxiety disorders among mental and behavioral disorders as a cause for the leave of absence of workers in the state of Piauí. Method: transversal census-based study performed with data from the National Social Security Institute. Four-hundred twelve leaves of absence of workers due to anxiety disorders in the 2015-2016 biennium were included. Results: higher prevalence was found for mixed anxiety-depressed disorder (31.2%), followed by other anxious disorders (20.6%) and generalized anxiety (14.1%). Ages from 22 to 45 years old prevailed in the group of individuals with duration of absence greater than or equal to 41 days, with statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). There was no statistically significant association (p = 0.004) between rural activity and increased time of absence. Conclusion: the study draws attention to the prevalence of “other anxiety disorders” as the cause of leave of absence, with emphasis on mixed anxiety-depressed disorder.