[Use of psychoactive drugs and family dysfunction].
OBJECTIVE
To find out the relationship between the use of psychoactive drugs in women and the results of the APGAR and stressful life events (SLE) questionnaires.


METHODS
Cross-sectional, descriptive study.


METHODS
General Fanjul Health Centre in Area 7 of the Community of Madrid.


METHODS
All the women between 25-65 years who were seen in Primary Care clinics in one week in March, 2005.


METHODS
Validated surveys validated of family dysfunction (Apgar) and stressful life events (additive scale of evaluation of social readjustment) were carried on women between 25-65 years who took psychoactive drugs.


RESULTS
Of the 625 women who were seen in the clinics, 121 (19.36%), with a mean age of 46.8+/-12.7 years, were interviewed. Of these, 90% were Spanish, 55.4% were married, 67% had children, 3.3% had not received schooling, 75.2% had a primary school education, 21.5% with university studies, and 57.9% work outside the home. Antidepressants were used by 24% of the women, with 30.6% taking benzodiazepines. The use of benzodiazepines increases with the age (p<0.001). On having look at the relationship between the use of benzodiazepines or antidepressants and the existence of major family dysfunction or major stressful life events (SLE) we verify that statistically significant differences do not exist.


CONCLUSIONS
Although it was intuitively possible to believe that SLE and family dysfunction lead to a higher use of psychoactive drugs, we could not find a statistically significant relationship. We have shown that there is a higher use of benzodiazepines in older women.
Pérez Cuadrado
Sonsoles
S
Centro de Salud Las Aguilas, Madrid, España. sonsolesperez@hotmail.com
Morán Tiesta
Cristina
C
Carreño Freire
Pilar
P
Suárez Del Villar Acebal
Teresa
T
Cámara Sola
Estefanía
E
Sánchez Fernández
Yolanda Beatriz
YB
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*
D011619:Psychotropic Drugs