[Malingering among workers seeking disability insurance].
OBJECTIVE
Describe the frequency and characteristics of Mexican Social Security workers with malingering disorder that request disability pension.


METHODS
Comparative survey made among 136 workers seen during 2001, which were divided into three groups: malingering workers (MW), workers without disability (WOD), and workers with disability (WWD). We administered the Z Test for scaled variables and Z2 Test for nominal variables to identify group differences


RESULTS
The incidence ofmalingering was of 2.2/100,000 workers. Mean age was 41.9 +/- 10.1 years, 440 was the average number of days of labor disability; 51 (37%) workers were malingerers. 35 (26%) workers were work disabled and 50 (37%) without disability. Malingerers had higher level of schooling compared with WOD and WWD (p < 0.02); most worked at the Social Security (p < 0.05), with lower number of previous jobs (p < 0.05), presented longer work disability (p < 0.05). Depressive symptoms were not frequently noted (p < 0.025) and all had normal electroencephalogram and brain computed tomography studies.


CONCLUSIONS
Malingering workers who request work disability pensions follow a particular pattern that differs from other workers that request disability assessment at the Social Security Institute of Mexico.
Quezada-Ortega
Martín Rafael
MR
División y Coordinación de Salud en el Trabajo, IMSS Ecatepec, Estado de Mexico, D.F., Mexico.
Razo-Mondragón
José Luis Pedro
JL
Marín-Cotoñieto
Irma Araceli
IA
Salinas-Tovar
Santiago
S
López-Rojas
Pablo
P
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018868:Insurance, Disability; D008297:Male; D008306:Malingering / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies