Factors associated with the consumption of psychotropic drugs in a cohort of men and women aged 50 and over

Summary Objectives: The use of psychotropic drugs has increased continuously over recent years in industrialized countries. In Europe, France has the highest consumption of such drugs. The aim of this study was to identify the sociodemographic and medical factors associated with the use of psychotropic agents. Methods: Data, collected as part of the SUVIMAX (SUpplementation en VItamines et sels Mineraux AntioXydants) prevention trial, from a self‐ administered questionnaire involving 7299 subjects aged 45–60 years, were subjected to logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 467 subjects used psychotropic drugs (8·4% of the women, 4·6% of the men). Use of psychotropic drugs increased in subjects of both sexes with past history of depression, perception of poor health and use of other drug treatments. Widowhood in men [odds ratio (OR) = 3·4; 95% CI = 1·6–7·3] and divorce in women (OR = 2; 95% CI = 1·2–3·2) were also associated with an increased use of psychotropic drugs. Interaction was demonstrated between educational level and occupational satisfaction in men (OR = 2·9; 95% CI = 1·5–5·8) and between perception of health status and use of other types of medication in women (OR = 6·5; 95% CI = 4·6–9·5). Conclusion: The results of our study are consistent with those of others in demonstrating that specific socio‐occupational factors in men and specific medical factors in women influence extent of use of psychotropic drugs.