MOOCS Saúde Mental Relacionada ao Trabalho - 22 - Risco químico e saúde mental

Hello! In the previous class we focused a little more on the psychosocial risks present at work, which are closely linked to the concept we’ve been working on regarding work organization. Let’s add an addendum to this class on the issue of chemical risks, which may also be related to the process of work-related mental illness.

In addition to factors directly linked to the organization of work, some chemical agents can trigger acute or chronic neuropsychiatric disturbances and disorders. Some of them, such as heavy metals, asphyxiating substances, carbon sulfide, methyl bromide, and other substances present, for example, in industrial processes. So, it's important to be aware and do a good anamnesis with this worker to investigate the entire history of occupational exposure.

The whole list of materials and substances that may be related to mental illness at work are in the book "Handbook of Work-Related Illnesses: Manual of Procedures for Health Services", which you can consult. Here we can see several mental disorders, and risk factors and situations that can lead to these disorders. I’m going to highlight here, for example, depressive episodes and depression that may be linked to the exposure to some of the aforementioned toxic substances.

Neurasthenia, which can be triggered by work organization issues, but can also be triggered by exposure to various toxic substances that are also listed here and you can consult in the material, and organic conditions, such as organic personality disorders, organic mental disorders, dementia, delirium, and mild cognitive impairment. All of these conditions can be traced Back to occupational exposure to some chemical or toxic product. In the next class, we will start talking a little more about interventions in mental health and work.

Faced with a context of illness, what type of intervention can we think of for those work contexts that are promoting and producing illness? Until the next class.