AUTOPERCEPÇÃO DE SAÚDE DE BRASILEIROS EM TRATAMENTO PARA DEPRESSÃO: UM ESTUDO VIGITEL 2023

Abstract

Depression is a psychopathology with the potential for chronicity and is defined by a cluster of affective, cognitive, and somatic symptoms. It affects approximately 300 million people globally, and in Brazil, it reaches a prevalence rate of around 15.5%. Diagnosis is based on syndromic criteria, and treatment includes both pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods; however, the use of medication remains the most requested therapeutic alternative. While pharmacotherapy aims to reduce symptoms in the short term, the scarcity of studies evaluating the effect of medications on the patient's perceived quality of life remains a gap in the field.Self-rated health (SRH) is an epidemiological measure that effectively predicts future outcomes and has strong applicability in drug utilization studies. This work is, therefore, a population-based cross-sectional study concerning self-rated health and depression. It analyzed telephone interviews conducted with respondents from the 2023 database of the Surveillance System for Risk and Protective Factors for Chronic Diseases by Telephone Survey (VIGITEL). The variables of interest were grouped and analyzed using logistic regression in sampling models.The results revealed a depression prevalence of 13.62% in the sample; 50.8% of respondents reported using medication for depression, and drug treatment was associated with self-rated health across all models. The non-use of medication proved to be a protective factor against negative self-perception (OR: 0.951). The results highlight the complexity between medication use in depression and self-rated health, the need for improved health policies and measures to ensure access, the necessity for continuous monitoring in public health services, and the improvement of social conditions for the Brazilian population.