We aimed to ascertain the prevalence of psychological distress among patients under treatment at specialized health care centers for alcohol and drugs, at the Federal District, Brasília, Brazil. Was conducted a cross-sectional study at the three Centers for Psycho-social Health Care - alcohol and drugs, using a self-administered questionnaire or interviews when patients were illiterate. We used the K-10 Psychological Distress scale. Results shown of the 165 patients who participated, 90% were male (age mean=42.9; median=43). Previous diagnosis of depression was reported by 40.8%; anxiety by 37.9%. Current diagnosis of depression and anxiety were reported by 42.9% and 48.8%, respectively. K-10 scale showed that 31% had severe and ~39% very severe psychological distress. Conclude that levels of psychological distress found in this research (severe and very severe ~70.0%), whose scale is more sensible for anxiety and depression, are higher than those found in the literature.
Comorbidity; Substance use-related disorders; Psychological distress; Mental health assistance
