Drug consumption in workers in France: a comparative study at a 10-year interval (1996 versus 1986)

This study compared drug consumption and associated social factors in workers in France between 1986 and 1996. The same transversal survey was performed in 1986 and 1996 using the same methodology by means of an anonymous questionnaire given to the subject and answered in the presence of an occupational physician. The 1996 population (2674 subjects) was found to be older (37.0 +/- 9.8 versus 35.7 +/-10.2 years) and to take more drugs (+5.1%) than the population of 1986 (2221 subjects). There were fewer manual workers in the 1996 population. In both periods, women used significantly more drugs in general and more psychoactive (mainly anxiolytic), cardiovascular, endocrine metabolic, and homeopathic drugs than men. The mean value of estimated difficulty of work was higher in subjects taking drugs in general, and especially those taking hypnotic, anxiolytic, psychoactive, antiinflammatory, and digestive drugs in 1986 as well in 1996. In 1986 as well as in 1996, manual workers took no more drugs than did nonmanual workers in general, except for analgesic and antiinflammatory drugs. Nonmanual workers used homeopathic drugs more than manual workers. The presence of extraprofessional problems was associated with an increase in consumption of drugs in general and psychoactive, hypnotic, anxiolytic, antiinflammatory, cardiovascular, digestive, and endocrine metabolic drugs in particular, in 1986 as well as in 1996. After adjustment for variables linked to drug use, there was no significant change in total drug consumption in general but a significant decrease in psychoactive (-49%) (mainly hypnotic [-71%]), and digestive (-39%) drug consumption in this population between 1986 and 1996. In contrast, analgesic use significantly increased (+36%). This study underscores the high level of drug consumption in workers (more than 40% of the subjects were taking drugs). Although there were no quantitative changes, marked qualitative modifications were found with a decrease in consumption of psychoactive (and mainly hypnotic) and digestive drugs and an increase in analgesic drug use between 1986 and 1996. Thus, specific drug information programs designed to reduce psychoactive drug consumption and to favor analgesic drugs for better pain management seem to have been (at least partly) followed. The study also underscores the importance of some social factors associated to general and specific drug use (mainly difficulty of work and presence of extraprofessional problems, and to a lesser extent, kind of work). Their weight remained similar in 1986 and 1996.