Associação entre sintomas ansiosos e depressivos com a automedicação em acadêmicos de medicina de uma universidade pública federal do Mato Grosso do Sul

Abstract

The study investigated the practice of self-medication among medical students at a Federal Public University in Mato Grosso do Sul, analyzing the factors that influenced this behavior. Self-medication is a widespread global practice driven by factors such as easy access to medications, high academic stress, and the belief in self-sufficiency in symptom management. Among medical students, this practice becomes even more concerning, as it compromises both the health of the students themselves and their future professional conduct in prescribing and administering medications rationally. The results demonstrated a high prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms (both psychological and somatic) among the students evaluated. Furthermore, analgesics and anti-inflammatories were prevalent in the general sample profile, while in the highanxiety group, antiemetics, antimicrobials, antiparasitic agents, prodigestives, laxatives, and anti-gas medications were the most frequently used. The data indicated that students with psychosomatic symptoms, such as gastrointestinal problems, resorted more frequently to self-medication. The study concluded that self-medication among medical students represented a high occurrence of anxiety and depressive symptoms with somatic manifestations, with a high frequency of self-medication, with characteristic patterns among those with the highest anxiety levels.