Assistance to people with mental and behavioral disorders due to abusive use or dependence on alcohol and other drugs increased by 11% in the Unified Health System (SUS) during the past year.
According to the Ministry of Health, in 2021, the public network performed 400,300 consultations due to disorders caused by the consumption of chemical substances. In 2020, 356 thousand calls were registered.
Of the total number of consultations carried out last year, 159,600 are related to abusive use of alcohol. Then come the mental and behavioral disorders caused by the use of cocaine (31,900) and smoking (18,800).
Opiates, cannabinoids, sedatives, hypnotics, hallucinogens, volatile solvents and stimulants (including caffeine) are also part of the survey, with smaller numbers of records. Finally, the use of multiple drugs and other psychoactive substances not listed individually account for 151,300 cases.
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Male patients are the majority of users served by the SUS, in any case. Regarding the age group, the largest portion is between 25 and 29 years old (303.7 thousand records), followed by the group from 10 to 24 years old (49.4 thousand) and those aged 60 or over (38.4 thousand) .
The numbers were released today (20), National Day to Combat Drugs and Alcoholism, as a form of alert for what the ministry, in a note, classified as “a global problem”.
For the ministry, the increase in the last year may be an indication that, after avoiding going to health facilities throughout 2020, for fear of being infected by the new coronavirus, more people returned to seek medical attention in 2021.
“It is important to remember that these numbers are not enough to portray the problem of chemical dependency in the country, given that we are talking specifically about the number of visits and not the total number of dependent people”, explains, in the note, the general coordinator of Health. Mental, Alcohol and Other Drugs from the Rafael Bernardon ministry.
“In addition, many people with disorders resulting from the use of these substances do not seek health services due to various factors, such as stigma and lack of information”, he points out.
*With information from Ascom/Ministry of Health
