Psychotropic drug use by women: Current prevalence and associations

Abstract

Objective: To determine the current prevalence of psychotropic drug use by women and any association between use and demographic variables. Design: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey. Setting: Metropolitan Melbourne between November 1993 and February 1994. Subjects: Consecutive women aged over 18, attending 15 randomly selected general practices for a consultation. Outcome measures: Psychotropic drugs taken in the last year and duration of their use, reported by the doctor from the patients' clinical notes and patient interview. Patient demographic characteristics. Results: The questionnaire was returned complete for 2048/3026 women. Of these, 20.4% had taken at least one psychotr..