Psychiatric hospitalizations due to bipolar disorder, major depression disorder and schizophrenia in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

  • Karine Zortea, Bipolar Disorder Program and Laboratory of Molecular Psychiatry, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil, and INCT for Tra, Brazil
  • Dr Brisa Fernandes, Bipolar Disorder Program and Laboratory of Molecular Psychiatry, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil, and INCT for Tra, Brazil
  • Dr David Lucena, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil
  • Joana Bucker, Bipolar Disorder Program and Laboratory of Molecular Psychiatry, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil, and INCT for Tra, Brazil
  • Dr Mireia Sulzbach, Bipolar Disorder Program and Laboratory of Molecular Psychiatry, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil, and INCT for Tra, Brazil
  • Dr Pedro Goi, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil, and INCT for Tra, Brazil
  • Dr Flavio Kapczinski, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil
  • Dr Clarissa Gama, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil, and INCT for Tra, Brazil

Introduction: The aim of this study is to describe the psychiatric hospitalizations in the Brazilian Health System based on its database (DATASUS), and assess trends of hospitalizations due to Bipolar Disorder (BD), Major Depression Disorder (MDD) and Schizophrenia (SZ) from 2000 to 2007 in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Methods: SIH/SUS files from January 2000 to December 2007 were located on DATASUS website. An algorithm was constructed based on the original files in order to extract data for execution in the SPSS 17.0 statistical package. A single file was constructed containing all relevant information for the entire historical period.
Results: from 2000 to 2007, there were 148,888 psychiatric hospitalizations in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In 2000, 29.40% of all psychiatric hospitalizations were related to SZ; in 2007, only 18.10% were related to this disorder (p<0.001). The number of hospitalizations by BD and MDD increased from 2000 to 2007 (from 9.60% to 12.40%, and from 9.30% to 18.20%, respectively, p<0.001). During this period, the hospitalizations by other psychiatric conditions had no change.
Conclusions: in this study, there was a trend of a decrease in the number of psychiatric hospitalizations due to SZ from 2000 to 2007, and an increase in the hospitalizations due to mood disorders. Further studies are necessary to clarify the reasons of the change in the profile of the psychiatric hospitalizations in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.