Evaluation of Quality of Life of Primary Health Care Patients in Brazil: Influence of Drug Interactions, Common Mental Disorders, and Use of Psychiatric Medication

• Published in: Community mental health journal Vol. 58; no. 2; pp. 240 - 248
• Main Authors: Pereira Júnior, Assis do Carmo, Miasso, Adriana Inocenti, Telles Filho, Paulo Celso Prado, Castilho, Ellen Carolina Dias, Vedana, Kelly Graziani Giacchero
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-02-2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Brazil - epidemiology; Community and Environmental Psychology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Drug Interactions; Health care; Health services; Hospitalization; Humans; Income; Medical diagnosis; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - diagnosis; Mental Disorders - drug therapy; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Original Paper; Patients; Prescription drugs; Primary care; Primary Health Care; Psychiatry; Psychotropic drugs; Quality of Life; Quantitative analysis; Risk; Sociodemographics; Structural equation modeling; Brazil; Psychiatric medication; Mental disorder; Primary health care; Psychiatric disorders; Drug interactions; Quality of life
• ISSN: 0010-3853; 1573-2789
• DOI: 10.1007/s10597-021-00815-8

The objectives of this study were to identify the interaction between drug interaction risk, common mental disorders, use of psychiatric medication and quality of life in patients treated in primary health care settings in Brazil. In this quantitative research, 452 patients were interviewed in ten basic Brazilian health units. Sociodemographic and pharmacotherapeutic questionnaires, use of psychiatric medication, prevalence of common mental disorders, and quality of life were utilised. The structural equation model was used to evaluate the relationships among the variables. The prevalence of drug interaction risk was 66.59%. The variables associated with drug interaction risk were polypharmacy and income. The use of psychiatric medication was associated with diagnosis of common mental disorders, income and gender. The use of psychiatric medication and common mental disorders negatively influenced quality of life.