PREVALENCE OF CALLETS IN NATIVE POPULATIONS: PECULIAR INTERPRETATIONS OF MENTAL DISEASES

Resumo

Introduction: As far as medicine is concerned, ethnic groups with millennial traditions have specific interpretations of certain pathologies. In this sense, neurological diseases gain outstanding interest and within them the famous headaches that have a high prevalence in almost all the studied populations are highlighted. The objective of this study is to evaluate different perceptions in relation to neurological and mental diseases, besides searching for studies that show the prevalence of headache in native populations, considering the housing scenario of the great Dourados that resides varied ethnicities. Material and Methods: Literature review made from data queries through PubMed, Bireme and Scielo portals and related articles. Results: Among the studies analyzed, it is worth mentioning the interesting analysis of an ethnographic study of neurological and mental diseases among the Uru-Chipaya peoples of the Andean Altiplano. Such work has shown that the cultural interpretation of certain neurological pathologies by the group is extremely peculiar. In this perspective, epilepsy, for example, is interpreted as an evil spirit that enters through the nose and its treatment consists of drinking a solution containing dried butterfly powder. Already another study to evaluate the prevalence of headache among Tupiniquins indians in brazil collected important data. The questionnaire of the study to evaluate the theme was carried out with 102 indians. The number of individuals who reported headache in the last six months was 62 (60.7%). The prevalence of six-month headache was 65.2% among women and 51.5% among men. In addition, 75% of the individual with migraine reported an impact on their activities and 37.5% had an impact more than once a month. An anthropological study made in Mahosik, a Tzeltal Maya community of 250 inhabitants in the Highlands of Chiapas, sought to obtain information about the neurological and psychosomatic pathology in an ethnic and cultural environment different from ours. Wizards and healers of the Tzeltal Maya tribe were interviewed to discover their ideas about neurological and mental illnesses and the treatments used in that community. Headache was the fourth most common cause of consultation and the boiled leaves of the "payté" shrub ("Tagetes neisonii") are used as a medicinal bath for treatment. Migraine is treated with the raw and crushed roots of the herbs "pox of chopak" and "bakte shell" along with the practice of cutting the patient with a piece of glass in the temporal region, deep enough to make it bleed. In this studied culture epilepsy is caused by an abuse suffered by the animal spirit that follows the individual, after a fight between the companion animal or the spirits who serve the forces of Good and Evil. Discussion and Conclusion: The review data demonstrated a huge cultural variety in the interpretation of mental and neurological phenomenon, which helps to respect cultural differences and to know the thinking of these groups, which can reduce the chances of prejudice and increase the aid that the current technology offers. Regarding headache, the prevalence among the Tupiniquins Indians in the national territory was high, which corresponds to the majority of the analyzed populations. Thus, with the knowledge of this fact, future advances in the area may allow greater coverage by the country to the native groups.

Acknowlegments: COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCE, FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF GRANDE DOURADOS-UFGD.