OBJECTIVE: Analyze the use of appetite suppressants in Brazil in 2009, according to the characteristics of users, healthcare system, and other drugs. METHODS: Pharmaconeconometric study of cross-sectional data to analyze the relationship between the use of appetite suppressants (mg/per capita) and the independent variables selected (gender, race/color, age, schooling, income, health insurance coverage, and use of fluoxetine and chlordiazepoxide) using multiple linear regression analysis. This study used these variables in level of aggregation by states for 2009. The analyses were performed using the Gretl software. RESULTS: We highlight that São Paulo showed the highest use of appetite suppressants with 97.3 mg/per capita, followed by Goiás with 94.8 mg/per capita. The lowest use of appetite suppressants was seen in Ceará (3.8 mg/per capita). The biggest fluoxetine users were in Rio Grande do Sul, with 58.0 mg/per capita, and in Goiás, with 51.5 mg/per capita. Ceará showed the lowest fluoxetine use (2.3 mg/per capita). For chlordiazepoxide, the highest values were seen in Minas Gerais (7.5 mg/per capita) and in Rio de Janeiro (4.8 mg/per capita), while Amazonas (0.08 mg/per capita) showed the lowest use. Based on regression analysis, we can highlight: 1) the use of appetite suppressants is related to income, education, and fluoxetine use; and 2) race/color, gender, age, health insurance coverage, and use of chlordiazepoxide showed no relation to the use of appetite suppressants. CONCLUSION: These evidences may contribute to the improvement of regulatory actions, sanitary surveillance, and ethical conduct, particularly with regard to the concomitant use of appetite suppressants and fluoxetine, which is prohibited by the Federal Council of Medicine (Conselho Federal de Medicina) and also by Anvisa (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária - National Health Surveillance Agency).
Regression analysis; appetite suppressants; pharmaceutical economics; obesity
