Percepções de qualidade de vida em usuárias de antidepressivos

Abstract

Depression generates greater and worse impacts on quality of life than other disorders. There is, therefore, an evident relationship between depression and worse scoring in quality of life. Objectives: To understand quality of life perception in female patients on antidepressants, their social-demographic profile and access to health services, source of prescription and the influence of depression by using the SF-36 quality of life assessment questionnaire, focusing mainly on the female gender. Casuistry and Method: Descriptive and exploratory field research. The participants were 50 women aged over 18 years, who purchased their antidepressants in a private drugstore based in the town the study was carried out. A questionnaire was completed, and its answers were compared to the SF-36 inventory. The statistical analysis was carried out through the software Prisma 6.0 and the content analysis relied on an open-ended question in the questionnaire. Findings: The antidepressant users were between 18 and 72 years, most part of whom had completed higher/technical education, they were married, lived in the urban area, were physically inactive, did not engage in leisure activities and did not have health insurance. Although unreported, they worked outside the home, mainly as domestic workers. The majority had children, who did not live with them and did not have an individual income. Having gotten their first prescription from a general practitioner, some reported taking the antidepressants correctly; those who did not take them correctly reported dissatisfaction with adverse effects. Some of the patients also reported having hypertension, migraine and fibromyalgia. The most commonly used antidepressants were Fluoxetine 20 mg and Sertraline 50 mg. The content analysis had anxiety, sadness, weeping, stressful events in life, trouble sleeping, psychosomatic symptoms, social isolation and pain complaints as its main results. The items which presented the worst scores were energy/fatigue, pain, general health, and emotional well-being. Conclusion: The findings revealed a lack of assistance in the town where the study was conducted, which brings out the importance of basic attention in small Brazilian towns. It was also observed the need to consider the social determinants of depression, since depression has multiple facets which cause/lead to/explain it, as well as a need to invest in support networks and provide assistance visibility to women with depression.