Did the COVID-19 pandemic influence the use of psychotropic medications by university students and LGBTQIAPN+? A Brazilian multicenter study

The COVID-19 pandemic may have had an impact on the mental health of university students and, consequently, led to the initiation on psychotropic medications or an increase on its use. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of the use of psychotropic medications among university students and evaluate the association of the use of such medicine with students who belong to minority groups. This is a cross-sectional study, in which all students enrolled in undergraduate courses at eight Brazilian public universities were invited to answer an online self-administered questionnaire. The data collection was conducted from October 2021 to February 2022. The outcome was the use of psychotropic medications and the explanatory variables were students who belong to minority groups, such as female, black, mixed-race, and other skin colors, and LGBTQIAPN+ individuals. The variables were descriptively analyzed and Pearson's chi-squared test and multinomial logistic regression were performed. A total of 8,650 students participated in the study, of which 25.7% reported using psychotropic medications in the 30 days prior to completing the questionnaire. It was observed that among students, female (OR = 1.8; 95%CI: 1.41-2.20) and non-heterosexual (OR = 1.5; 95%CI: 1.23-1.80) had higher chances of using psychotropic medications during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was found that university students began using psychotropic medications and the association of its use with minority groups was observed.