The social nature of mental disorders is objectively apparent from its unequal distribution between men and women and between social classes. These inequalities are recurrent in the literature. Several authors have found high prevalence of Common Mental Disorders (CMD) among women, among the unemployed and informal workers, the low income and the low educated individuals. Some studies, fundamental for the contemporary view on the inequalities between class and gender of the CMD, are here presented. Considerations about the social determinants of mental illness point to some challenges for mental health planners.
Mental health; common mental disorders; inequalities; class; gender