A closer look at the epidemiology of schizophrenia and common mental disorders in Brazil

Schizophrenia and common mental disorders are noteworthy social and economic concern worldwide. Epidemiologic studies on the impact of specific mental disorders in emerging countries are scarce. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to characterize the demographic, social, and economic burden of schizophrenia and common mental disorders patients in the health system in Brazil. METHODS: Data on these conditions in Brazil between 2008 and 2019 were collected through the website of the Departamento de Informática do Sistema Único de Saúde (Information Technology Department of the Unified Health System - DATASUS) maintained by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Mean annual hospital admissions were 154,009.67, and cumulative incidence of 77.44 admissions per 100,000 inhabitants. RESULTS: Average annual hospital expenses were US$ 67,216,056.04, with an average admission cost of US$ 432.58. The most affected age groups were older adults albeit younger individuals showed a trend towards increase of occurrences in recent years. There were a higher number of admissions in men compared to women. CONCLUSIONS: We consider the results obtained important to assist in evaluating and guiding public policies regarding the prevention and treatment in health systems.