Psychiatric comorbidities and suicide risk among users of psychoactive substances

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To identify the presence of psychiatric comorbidities and risk of suicide in users of psychoactive substances treated at health services. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Descriptive exploratory study carried out with 56 users of psychoactive substances (SPA) in a municipality in the Northwest Mesoregion of the state of Ceará. The data collection instruments were: Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20), Depression Assessment Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Suicide Rich Index (IRIS). Analysis using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: 78.6% (n = 44) were male, 69.6% (n = 39) single and 66% (n = 39) of the users had children. Of these, 80.4% (n = 45) had positive screening for non-psychotic disorders, 82.1% (n = 46) with depression, 69.7% (n = 39) had a high risk of suicide, with emphasis on presence of a marked recent loss (n = 41; 73.2%) and absent religiosity (n = 29; 51.8%). CONCLUSION: there is a high frequency of psychiatric comorbidities in SPA users, especially non-psychotic disorders and depression. As for the aspects related to the risk of suicide, most were at high risk for such behavior.