Uso de benzodiazepínicos entre policiais militares: padrões de prescrição, automedicação e riscos funcionais

Abstract

The use of benzodiazepines has increased significantly in recent decades and is frequently associated with the treatment of anxiety disorders and sleep disturbances. In the occupational context, military police officers constitute a group vulnerable to the use of these substances due to working conditions characterized by chronic stress, exposure to violence, and high emotional demands. This article analyzes patterns of benzodiazepine (BZD) use among military police officers in the state of Goiás and the occupational risks resulting from such use. The methodological approach is based on two main sources: the analysis of 100 special-control prescriptions (List B1) from the Tiradentes Foundation Pharmacy (2011) and a retrospective toxicological survey (2016–2021) conducted at a military hospital, in which 632 urine samples were subjected to immunochromatographic tests. The prescription study results indicate the clear predominance of Clonazepam (54%). Although men constitute the absolute majority of users, the epidemiological risk is five times higher among female personnel (a ratio of 0.03 compared with 0.006). It was observed that 48% of users had between 21 and 30 years of service, with a mean age of 47.03 years. The toxicological survey confirmed the persistence of BZDs as the most frequently detected drug class among positive samples (14 of 28 cases). It is concluded that chronic use and self-medication function as coping mechanisms in response to emotional exhaustion, generating serious functional risks, such as psychomotor impairment in the handling of firearms and the operation of police vehicles.