USO DE ANTIDEPRESSIVOS POR ACADÊMICOS DE UMA FACULDADE PÚBLICA DE CAMPO GRANDE-MS, DURANTE A PANDEMIA DA COVID-19

Abstract

The increase in cases of depression and anxiety in young university students became evident with the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, studies and research that are related to antidepressants and anxiolytics and forms of treatment and health care are important, as they discuss prevention strategies and quality of life for university students diagnosed with such disorders. Many problems related to mental health became evident with the beginning of the pandemic, where, following the social isolation decree, university students had to distance themselves from academic life, causing social and mental problems. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a notable increase in young people who began to present some psychological disorder, for which pharmacotherapy is used, however, several questions and discussions arise about the use of psychoactive substances by young people, among which the following stand out: If the adverse effects and continuous use, as it is intended to alleviate and treat the symptoms caused by depression on a temporary basis. This study aimed to analyze the frequency of use of antidepressants by students at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Food and Nutrition – Facfan at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online form (Appendix A) structured on the Google Form platform was used, from December 2022 to August 2023, applied remotely via email, containing questions that sought to know the number of university students diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety during the pandemic and which psychotropic medications were used. After data collection, data analysis was carried out, including descriptive statistical analysis, where 46.9% of respondents indicated that they started using an antidepressant during the COVID-19 pandemic, 48.1% received a dose adjustment during this period. and 48.4% of young people interviewed did not stop using antidepressants during this period. Therefore, the tension and uncertainty of the pandemic scenario have a serious psycho-emotional impact on mental health.