Alcoolismo em profissionais de saúde: uma revisão sistemática

Abstract

Alcoholism is a chronic and multifactorial disease, considered one of the most common mental disorders related to alcohol consumption. It is defined by the WHO as a set of behavioral, cognitive and physiological phenomena that develop after repeated alcohol use and may pose health risks, since its consumption is associated with diseases and deaths. Thus, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with alcoholism in health professionals. This is a systematic review with a qualitative synthesis due to the heterogeneity of the studies. The review protocol was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) under number CRD42022344862. The methodology followed the recommendations contained in the Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers' Manual (The Systematic Review of Prevalence and Incience Data), MOOSE Group (Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) and Cochrane Collaboration. The review was reported in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 Checklist (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis). The searches were carried out in the electronic databases EMBASE, through Elsevier, MEDLINE, through PubMed, in LILACS via the Regional Portal of the Virtual Health Library (VHL) and gray literature materials (unpublished), through digital repositories College students. Observational studies in general were included (cohorts, cross-sectional studies and case-controls) that describe health professionals, with complete higher education and with a confirmed diagnosis of alcoholism by a validated instrument. Studies that did not report the diagnosis and did not present data on risk factors for alcoholism were not included. For the qualitative analysis, the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used. Of the 11,556 studies, 36 were included in the review according to the inclusion criteria. Results from eligible studies reported prevalence of alcoholism in health care workers, with estimates ranging from 3.6% to 77.4%. Regarding the professional category, the prevalence of alcoholism was higher among male medical professionals (27.1%) when compared to the other categories and gender. The most used assessment tool for tracking alcoholism was the AUDIT, followed by the ASSIST, CAGE and others. As for the analyzed outcomes, the main risks associated with alcoholism were: dependence on alcohol and other substances, mainly smoking, mental disorders and Burnout Syndrome. It was possible to conclude that the prevalence of alcoholism is high mainly in the professions of doctors, nurses, dentists and pharmacists. It is concluded that preventive interventions are necessary from graduation to entry into professional life and into the work environment. It is suggested that new studies be carried out aiming at the combination, interpretation and analysis of quantitative results (parametric data), seeking studies with similarities in methodological characteristics that allow comparisons between them.