Increase in hospital admissions for drug use in Brazil particularly in women and elderly

ABSTRACT Objective To analyze the trend of hospitalization rates for mental and behavioral disorders due to drug use in Brazil. Methods Ecological study of time series of hospitalizations of Brazilian residents, from 2005 to 2015, recorded in the Hospital Information System of the Unified Health System. A trend analysis and relative difference in rates were performed for extreme triennial and of the polynomial regression model for the whole period. Results Rates of hospitalization for drug use increased by an average of 0.96 per year, with a decline after 2012. The North region showed a growing tendency for both sexes (0.56 per year) and in the Northeast region, the males showed a decreasing trend (-0.33 per year). In relation to women, rates increased in all age groups. There was an increase in hospitalization rates among the elderly, the North region presented a more significant relative difference (4.7 for men and 2.7 for women). Conclusion The trend of hospitalization rates due to drug use showed to be increasing with trend curve only at the end of the period. Women and the elderly had an increase in hospitalization rates in relation to the initial and final periods of the sample.