ABSTRACT
Objective
To estimate the pattern of alcohol consumption among homeless people in a Brazilian capital city.
Method
It applied a previously validated form to obtain data and for alcohol consumption, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test instrument in people living on the streets, in the period from August 2018 to February 2019 recruited by convenience. The study met the ethical aspects.
Results
The sample was composed of 125 homeless people. There was a predominance of males, 107 (85.6%), aged over 30 years. Of the participants, 85 (68%) had a pattern of alcohol consumption classified as probable dependence, related to Sexually Transmitted Infections and use of other drugs. Only eight (6.4%) had low risk consumption.
Conclusion
The pattern of alcohol consumption in this population is high risk. It highlights the need for the development of interventions, especially the educational, aimed at harm reduction and self-preservation of health and referral of cases to specialized health care.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).