• Pedro Lemos-Santos, Lukas Blumrich, Jordi Blanes Debia, João Mauricio Castaldelli-Maia, Paulo Jeng Chian Suen, and André Malbergier.
• Undergraduate Student, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP), São Paulo (SP), Brazil.
• Sao Paulo Med J. 2023 Jan 1; 142 (2): e2022493e2022493.

BackgroundMedical students demonstrate higher rates of substance use than other university students and the general population. The challenges imposed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic raised significant concerns about mental health and substance use.ObjectivesAssess the current prevalence of substance use among medical students at the University of São Paulo and evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on drug consumption.Design And SettingA cross-sectional study was conducted on 275 medical students from the University of São Paulo Medical School (São Paulo, Brazil) in August 2020.MethodsSubstance use (lifetime, previous 12 months, and frequency of use before and during the COVID-19 pandemic) and socioeconomic data were assessed using an online self-administered questionnaire. Symptoms of depression were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9.ResultsAlcohol was the most consumed substance in their lifetime (95.6%), followed by illicit drugs (61.1%), marijuana (60%), and tobacco (57.5%). The most commonly consumed substances in the previous year were alcohol (82.9%), illicit drugs (44.7%), marijuana (42.5%), and tobacco (36%). Students in the first two academic years consumed fewer substances than those from higher years. There was a decreasing trend in the prevalence of most substances used after the COVID-19 pandemic among sporadic users. However, frequent users maintained their drug use patterns.ConclusionThe prevalence of substance use was high in this population and increased from the basic to the clinical cycle. The COVID-19 pandemic may have affected the frequency of drug use and prevalence estimates.

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