Consumo de antidepressivos e fatores socieconômicos associados: um estudo ecológico na Paraíba.

Abstract

The prevalence of mental disorders has been growing worldwide, notably anxiety and depression disorders, whose most used pharmacotherapeutic treatment is the use of antidepressants, especially Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and Noradrenaline (SNRI). Despite the large consumption of these drugs, in Brazil, only one of them is present in the National List of Essential Medicines (RENAME), made available by the Basic Component of Pharmaceutical Assistance. The present study aimed to analyze the consumption of antidepressant drugs of the SSRI and SNRI classes in the municipalities that make up the 4th Health Region of Paraíba, correlating them with socioeconomic indicators and access to health services. Conducting an ecological/observational study in the chosen municipalities, correlating the sale of first­line antidepressants (DDD measure (defined daily dose)) with socioeconomic and access to health variables. It was seen that the drugs with the highest consumption were the SSRIs: escitalopram (DDD, 1,000 inhabitants, day of 37.38) and sertraline (DDD of 27.13). The municipalities with the highest total value of DDD/inhabitants were Picuí and Cuité. It was evidenced that the municipalities with the highest incomes, population aging rate and supplementary health coverage rates were the ones that consumed the most antidepressants. Therefore, there is a need for a debate on expanding the availability of antidepressants of these classes in the Unified Health System, welcoming the population that does not have the purchasing power to pay for private health plans and the acquisition of these drugs, so that there is better care for the population.