SA5.3 - ANÁLISES POPULACIONAIS DOS IMPACTOS DA PANDEMIA E MANEJOS NO CUIDADO ÀS POPULAÇÕES AFETADAS (TODOS OS DIAS)
|
40950 - ASSOCIATION BETWEEN MENTAL HEALTH INDICATORS AND SUBSTANCE USE INITIATION AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
CREMILDO JOAO BAPTISTA - UFMS
Apresentação/Introdução
Substance use and mental health are worldwide major public health concerns that are strongly associated, and the Covid-19 pandemic has increased both. Beginning to use substances is associated with many factors. During the Covid-19 pandemic, physical isolation, worry and fear of infection, job loss, and other factors were associated with substance use initiation (COVID-19 substance initiators).
Objetivos
To report the association between mental health indicators and substance use initiation among university students during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Metodologia
Online anonymous cross-sectional study, between April and September 2021, were participants answered to DASS-21 including the question “Have you started using any of these substances now, during the pandemic?” and indicated substances grouped in alcohol, tobacco, medical drugs (both prescribed and/or non-prescribed), and illicit/illegal substances. Parsimoniously, we binarized the scores of each construct of the DASS-21 as ‘Not Severe’ for those who scored “Normal” or “Mild” or “Moderate” and as ‘Severe’ for those scored “Severe” or “Extremely severe”, with ‘Not Severe’ as reference category. We estimated prevalence ratios using Poisson regression, adjusted for gender, age, and education.
Resultados
Little more than a quarter (28.43%) endorsed being COVID-19 substance initiators. The majority (62.99%) of respondents were undergraduate students, female (72.55%), and half (51.23%) self-identified as Black or Pardo. Mostly (80.86%) were aged 18 to 29 years old, 77.31% were single, and 76.44% were cohabiting with family or partner, typical profile of Brazilian university students. About one-fifth (18.86%) belonged to risk group for Covid-19 severe illness. All constructs of the DASS-21 were associated with higher prevalence of substance use initiation during the pandemic: depression (1.30, 95%C.I: 1.06 - 1.60), anxiety (1.52, 95%C.I: 1.24 - 1.86), and stress (1.81, 95%C.I: 1.43 - 2.28).
Conclusões/Considerações
We evidenced highest prevalence of substance use initiation among participants scoring higher for depression, anxiety and stress during the Covid-19 pandemic compared to those scoring lower. Both mental health and unhealthy substance use interventions need to go beyond disseminating knowledge to effective preventive measures.
|
