Use of psychotropic drugs in Finland

A nationwide interview study conducted in Finland in 1976 shows that 6% of the adults and 0.2% of the children were using prescribed psychotropic drugs. The proportion of users was 7% among women and 5% among men, a difference smaller than in most studies from other countries. Both women and men used most commonly antianxiety drugs, followed by hypnotics among women and antipsychotics among men. A multivariate analysis showed that the use of psychotropic drugs was significantly (P less than 0.001) related to both chronic illness and psychiatric symptomatology as well as to the number of physician visits, and--among women only--to age. At a slightly less significant level (P less than 0.01) the use was among women related to family income, region and the interaction of age and chronic morbidity, and among men to family income.