title: Prevalence and trends in psychotropic medication use among US male veterans, 1999-2010.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Prior studies of psychotropic medication use among US veterans are limited in their ability to generalize estimates to the full veteran population and make comparisons with non-veterans. This study estimated the prevalence of psychotropic medication use and trends over time among male US veterans, compared their use of psychotropic medications with non-veteran males, and examined differences among veteran subpopulations.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data for our analysis came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2010), a cross-sectional, nationally representative study of the civilian, non-institutionalized US population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The percentage of male veterans who used any psychotropic medication increased from 10.4% in 1999-2002 to 14.3% in 2003-2006, then remained stable in 2007-2010 (14.0%). During the same time period, the percentage of non-veteran males who used psychotropic medications remained relatively stable (7.0%, 8.3%, and 9.2%, respectively). Veterans were more likely to use psychotropic medication, specifically antidepressants, than non-veterans. The percentage of non-Hispanic white veterans and veterans aged 60 years and over who used psychotropic medications increased between 1999-2002 and 2003-2006, but the percentages remained stable between 2003-2006 and 2007-2010. In 2003-2006 and 2007-2010, a higher percentage of non-Hispanic white veterans used psychotropic medications than non-Hispanic black veterans.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study found that the use of psychotropic medications and antidepressants was higher among male veterans than male non-veterans, and that prevalence of use increased between 1999-2002 and 2007-2010 for male veterans but remained relatively stable for non-veterans. There were significant variations in the use of psychotropic medications among veteran subpopulations.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MD, USA and University of the Sciences, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Frenk
authors.affiliation: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MD, USA and University of the Sciences, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sautter
authors.affiliation: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MD, USA and University of the Sciences, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Ryne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Paulose-Ram
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D015995:Prevalence; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs
keywords: CDC; NHANES; antidepressants; pharmacoepidemiology; psychotropic medication; veterans