Medical and Psychosocial Factors Predictive of Psychotropic Drug Use in Elderly Patients

Overview

Journal Am J Public Health

Specialty Public Health

Date 1990 Nov 1

PMID 2240303

Citations 2

Authors

L D Ried

D B Christensen

A Stergachis

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate medical and psychosocial factors that may be used to identify patients at risk of psychotropic drug use. Population-based surveys were completed by 278 elderly health maintenance organization (HMO) patients in August 1984. Physical and mental health status and social support were measured in the survey. Automated prescription records from the year prior to and the year after the survey were linked to data from the survey. Patients received 737 prescriptions for psychotropic drugs during the two-year period under study. Doxepin (20.2 percent), flurazepam (15.2 percent), and diazepam (14.8 percent) were dispensed most frequently. Nearly 30 percent of the patients received a prescription for at least one psychotropic drug during the two-year period, and 14 percent received at least one prescription during both years. Three significant predictors of subsequent psychotropic drug use were: prior use (odds ratio = 17.2, 95% CI = 6.25, 47.33), the number of physical impairments (OR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.05, 2.84), and the respondent's rating on the Alameda Health Scale (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 0.99, 2.75). Patients' self-reported mental health status and sociodemographic characteristics were not significant predictors of subsequent use.

Citing Articles

Prescribing of psychotropics in the elderly: why is it so often inappropriate?.

Mort J, Aparasu R CNS Drugs. 2002; 16(2):99-109.

PMID: 11825101 DOI: 10.2165/00023210-200216020-00003.

Current benzodiazepine issues.

Woods J, Winger G Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1995; 118(2):107-15; discussion 118, 120-1.

PMID: 7617794 DOI: 10.1007/BF02245824.

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