title: Female alcoholics. I. Alcohol dependence and problems associated with prescribed psychotropic drug use.
abstract: A case note study of 518 alcohol-dependent (DSM-III) inpatients examined their reported past history of prescribed psychotropic drug use patterns between 1973-1985. The subjects were cross-matched for gender, age and admission date and stratified into 3 time periods. The characteristics of psychotropic medication recipients were compared with those patients who reported no use of licit medications. Statistical analysis by logistic regression indicated that there was a significant relationship between the past use of psychotropic drugs with a parental history of excessive alcohol intake, the higher levels of MAST scores and the occurrence of past parasuicide events. Patients in their middle years (35-54) tended to have received significantly less psychotropic drugs than the younger or older age groups. The female (70%) to male (48%) ratio of past psychotropic use was 1.4:1. Gender differences were also noted in the use of antidepressants and illicit substances.
authors.affiliation: Pleasant View Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blankfield
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007062:Identification, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; D012307:Risk Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs