O uso de benzodiazepínicos em populações paraibanos: a influência das relações de parentesco

Abstract

Inbreeding is a tradition in populations of northeastern Brazil and is associated with the manifestation of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety disorders, usually treated with benzodiazepines. In this dissertation, two integrative reviews of the literature on use of psychiatric drugs and benzodiazepines in different populations were performed. From these findings and a pilot study, we developed a structured interview schedule to investigate, in a population of 4,543 inhabitants, if there was a higher prevalence of benzodiazepine users in the offspring of consanguineous couples. The users prevalence within the population was estimated to be 4.2%. Within the benzodiazepine users group (n=151), 107 (70.9%) were children of unrelated couples and 44 (29.1%) were consanguineous, whereas in the non-users group (n=251), these values were 177 (70.6%) and 74 (29.4%), respectively; therefore, a significant difference was not observed between the two groups (p=0.94). The users profile was made of women (70.9%), elderly (43.7%) and retired individuals (52.3%). Insomnia (25.8%), "nervousness" (21.9 %) and anxiety (20.5 %) were the main motivations for early usage of these drugs. The majority (97%) of users does not have a clinical diagnosis report and have used such drugs for 8.2 ± 8 years; and a quarter of them did not have an appointment with a physician in the past twelve months. The dependence was observed in 24.5% of the users and 35% of the elderly use these drugs inappropriately, considering the Beers criteria. In the state of Paraíba, it was estimated that R$30 million per year were used to finance the purchase of these drugs; and the users of this medication have not lost their labor capability.