Psychotropic Use Among Classroom Teachers in Espírito Santo: A Cross-Sectional Study

To assess the prevalence of psychotropic use among classroom teachers and to identify associated factors.

A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and February 2024 in Espírito Santo, Brazil. The study included teachers from 20 state schools selected through probabilistic sampling. Data were collected in person using a self-administered questionnaire that addressed sociodemographic characteristics, working conditions, mental health history, mental health screening scales, and the use of psychotropic medications. Poisson regression with robust variance was employed to estimate the prevalence ratio of psychotropic and antidepressant use. The study was approved by the research ethics committee.

The study included 453 teachers. The prevalence of psychotropic medication use was 20.0% (95% CI: 16.9%-22.9%), while the prevalence of antidepressant use was 16.9% (95% CI: 13.8%-19.8%). In the multivariate analysis, a higher prevalence of psychotropic use was observed among cisgender women (PR = 1.91; 95% CI: 1.07-3.39) and teachers with depressive symptoms (PR = 2.30; 95% CI: 1.26-4.22). Antidepressant use was also more frequent among cisgender women (PR = 2.07; 95% CI: 1.12-3.85) and those with depressive symptoms (PR = 2.01; 95% CI: 1.05-3.82), while teachers working in schools located in Santa Teresa showed a lower prevalence compared to those in Vitória (PR = 0.31; 95% CI: 0.10-0.90).

The findings indicate a considerable prevalence of psychotropic and antidepressant use among teachers, particularly among cisgender women and those presenting depressive symptoms.