Background

About 10 % of the populations in urban centers all over the world misuse psychoactive substances, independently of age, gender, education level and purchasing power. The use of these substances is direct and indirectly related with a series of health problems, among which traffic accidents, aggression, clinical depressions and conduct disorders are highlighted, besides sexual risk behavior and the risk of HIV transmission due to injectable drug use and other health problems. We analyzed the profile of a population attended in the Family Health Strategy, considering the consumption of psychoactive substances in the last three months. Material and methods Quantitative, Cross-sectional descriptive survey, con-ducted in a community located in the north of Rio de Janeiro. The sample consisted of 1489 users of the Service, using a structured questionnaire (Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test). Data collection was conducted within one year. The analysis was per-formed with SPSS software using statistical measures appropriate (test t de student and ANOVA and Pearson correlations), respectively to evaluate mean differences for two and more than two groups, Pearson correlations, using the Statistical Package Social Science (SPSS) version 22.0 and we have established a level statistical significance at p <0.05. The ethical study procedures were represented by the approval of the Ethics Committee of the Municipa