Caracterização dos usuários de benzodiazepínicos na atenção básica

Abstract

The literature on benzodiazepine abuse is extensive with several studies in several countries that confirm the phenomenon and highlight long-term use. The Brazilian Medical Association clarifies that benzodiazepine dependence is a condition with peculiarities in relation to other forms of dependence, as it occurs in doses very close to therapeutic ones. The guideline is that actions to reduce the use of this class of medication should be concentrated within the services that are part of the Primary Health Care network. Thus, the objective of this study is to characterize the group of users and dependents of benzodiazepines in order to bring up issues that have not been considered so far. This is a cross-sectional study of a quantitative nature with the application of a questionnaire to users and dependents of benzodiazepines in five primary health care units in the municipality of Votuporanga. The results bring worrying numbers in relation to the time of use of benzodiazepines associated with antidepressants, the average between the units was 108 months or 9 years, when the recommendation is for it to be a maximum of 3 months. The female gender stands out and the average age is 57.5 years, with a low level of education. Issues related to the female sex and this age group deserve further investigation.