Drug Use Frequency Variation and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: an Online Survey

Abstract

In December 2019, a new disease caused by a coronavirus was first identified in China and quickly spread across the world, causing a large number of deaths. Quarantine has been implemented in many countries as a measure to prevent the spread of the disease. The impact of this situation on drug use and mental health is still poorly understood. Therefore, this cross-sectional study sought to assess possible associations between quarantine, the use of psychoactive substances, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. The assessment instruments used were the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9); the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale; and an adaptation of the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST). The sample consisted of 2398 participants who met the following inclusion criteria: being in quarantine, aged 18 years or older, and living in Brazil. There was a decrease in the frequency of use of practically all drugs investigated in the evaluated sample. However, some factors were associated with less variations in the frequency of substance use before and during quarantine. These factors were being male, single, and having an occupation different from homemaker.

Análisis del perfil sociodemográfico y clínico de personas derivadas a una Unidad de Salud Mental durante el principio de la pandemia por COVID-19 en España

“…Varios estudios afirman que sí existe un aumento del consumo durante los primeros meses de confinamiento, en el caso de algunas sustancias como el alcohol o la heroína, lo que derivó en sintomatología como: es-trés, ansiedad o mayor ideación suicida. Sin embargo, otros estudios tienen en cuenta la poca predisposición que muestran las personas drogodependientes para predecir el riesgo e impacto negativo que pueden tener hechos o acontecimientos externos para su propia salud (Stack et al, 2021;Schmidt et al, 2021;Adinolfi et al, 2021).…”

Experiência com a COVID-19 e Sintomas Relacionados à Saúde Menta

“…Ainda, após realização de um refi namento buscando apenas estudos que apresentem prevalências de sintomas de depressão, ansiedade, estresse e sofrimento, excluindo preprints e duplicatas, obtém-se 29 estudos 1 que apresentam um panorama global do acometimento dos brasileiros e apontam para uma alta prevalência de sintomas. Esses estudos apresentam dados do primeiro ano pandêmico (Apêndice B) e representam um ponto de partida importante para discussão e refl exão em relação à saúde mental e prevenção da instalação de transtornos que poderão vir a confi gurar uma 1 Adinolfi et al, 2021;Antonelli-Ponti et al, 2020;Barros et al, 2020;Brunoni et al, 2021;Camargo et al, 2021;Campos et al, 2020;Caxias et al, 2021;Christofaro et al, 2021;D. C. S. Ferreira et al, 2020;F.…”

The development and validation of the pandemic medication-assisted treatment questionnaire for the assessment of the impact of pandemic crises on medication management and administration for patients with opioid use disorders

“…Indeed, the restriction and social distancing measures adopted by societies to decelerate COVID-19 pandemic Index and the Fear of COVID-19 scale), or to assess the forces that promote motivation to substance use (Rogers et al, 2020). Other tools have been built to measure COVID-19-related anxiety and depression (Adinol et al, 2021), as well as symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders, suicidal attitude and substance use disorders due to COVID-19 (Czeisler et al, 2020).…”