Dias, AdrianoBernardes, João MarcosMalacize Fantazia, MiriamRuiz Frutos, CarlosGómez Salgado, Juan2019-03-052019-03-052018Dias, A., Bernardes, J., Fantazia, M., Ruiz-Frutos, C., & Gómez-Salgado, J. (2018). Six Years of Sick Leave Spells in a Group of University Civil Workers. Can Modern Work Bring Them a New Health Problem? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph160100171661-78271660-4601 electrónicohttp://hdl.handle.net/10272/16047The objective of this study is to analyse sick leave episodes of a university’s collective of statutory workers in the State of São Paulo, between January 2010 and December 2015. For this, a descriptive study analysed 5776 registered spells of sick leave of four university units: agricultural sciences; human health, health and animal reproduction, and biological sciences; an administrative unit; and a university hospital. The medical expert assessment was carried out by general practitioners and psychiatrists who managed sick leave and return to work cases. Around 52% had up to three sick leave episodes, and 10% of the workers had 20 or more episodes. Each spell of sickness absence lasted a median of 30 days (IQR 8–60 days). Among all of sick leaves, 35% had as a primary cause mental or behavioural diseases, of which 30% were depressive disorders, followed by around 18% related to the musculoskeletal system and the connective tissues. In the medical reports, 80% of the workers reported pain and 30% reported psychological symptoms. The collective, seen as privileged by many for their job stability, has a high percentage of sick leave due to mental illness, with extended periods which affect the levels of disability and reduce possibilities of return.engAtribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 3.0 Españahttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/Sickness absencePublic workersUniversityPsychosocial work environmentOccupational healthHealth workersjournal article10.3390/ijerph16010017open access