Quality of life and attitudes towards psychotropics and dependency: consumers vs. non-consumers aged 50 and over

SUMMARY Aim: To assess the relationships between socio- demographic factors, quality of life and attitudes towards psychotropic drugs and dependency and to compare those relationships in continuous consumers (CC), occasional consumers (OC) and non-consumers (NC) of those drugs. Methods: Quality of life (SF36) and attitudes (14 statements) were measured in 601 subjects (45-60 years old) from the SUVIMAX cohort (SUpplementation en VItamines et en sels Min- eraux AntioXydants). Data were obtained on 334 NC, 142 CC, 125 OC from the inclusion ques- tionnaire and the monthly consumption report notebooks kept by subjects between 1994 and 1998. Dichotomous and polychotomous logistic regressions were used for the analysis. Results: The lower the quality of life score the more frequent was consumption. NC tended to be men, with high quality of life scores. They enter- tained negative attitudes towards psychotropics and dependency. OC tended to be women report- ing a chronic pathology, with fairly high social status. They had intermediate quality of life and denied dependency. CC tended to be men with no professional activity and low quality of life scores in particular for mental health and perceived health. They had positive attitudes towards psy- chotropics and accept dependency. Discussion: Assessment of patients' quality of life and understanding of their attitudes towards psychotropics can provide essential informa- tion for those in charge of health promotion programmes and may help in identifying new intervention strategies. Preventive education and follow-up of therapy may be better suited to the needs of patients.