Abstract
Objectives
To investigate the 5-year prevalence of patients admitted to public inpatient care units due to a mental disorder, stratifying them by age group and diagnosis, and to assess trends of admissions over this time period in Porto Alegre.
Methods
All admissions to the public mental health care system regulated by the city-owned electronic system Administração Geral dos Hospitais (AGHOS) were included in the analysis. The total population size was obtained by estimations of Fundação de Economia e Estatística (FEE). General information about 5-year prevalence of inpatient admissions, time-series trends e prevalence by age groups and diagnosis were presented.
Results
There were 32,608 admissions over the 5-year period analyzed. The overall prevalence of patients was 1.62% among the total population, 0.01% among children, 1.12% among adolescents, 2.28% among adults and 0.93% among the elderly. The most common diagnosis was drug-related, followed by mood, alcohol-related and psychotic disorders. There was a linear trend showing an increase in the number of admissions from 2013 to the midst of 2014, which dropped in 2015.
Conclusions
Admissions due to mental disorders are relatively common, mainly among adults and related to drug use and mood disorders. Time trends varied slightly over the 5 years. Prevalence rates in real-world settings might be useful for policymakers interested in planning the public mental health system in large Brazilian cities.
Mental disorders; prevalence; inpatient care; admissions; public health
