title: Social differences associated with the use of psychotropic drugs among men and women aged 65 to 74 years living in the community: the International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Elderly persons make greater use of psychotropic drugs, but there are few international studies on social differences in the use of these medications. The aim of this study is to examine social differences in the use of psychotropic drugs among persons aged 65-74 years in the International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS).
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample consisted of 1,995 participants in the IMIAS 2012 baseline study in Saint-Hyacinthe (Canada), Kingston (Canada), Tirana (Albania), Manizales (Colombia), and Natal (Brazil). During home visits, all medication taken by the participants in the previous 15 days was recorded. We then used the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification system to code psychotropic drugs as anxiolytics, sedatives, hypnotics (ASH); antidepressants (ADP); or analgesics, antiepileptics, or antiparkinsonians (AEP). Prevalence ratios for psychotropic drug use according to sex, education, income, and occupation were estimated by fitting a Poisson regression and controlling for demographic and health covariates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Psychotropic drug use was higher among Canadian participants than among those living outside Canada. Prevalence of AEP drug use was higher for women than men in the Canadian and Latin American sites. In Tirana, antidepressant drugs were rarely used. Socioeconomic differences varied among sites. In the Canadian cities, low socioeconomic standing was associated with higher frequency of psychotropic drug use. In the Latin American cities, elderly people with high education and income levels showed a higher level of antidepressant drug use, while people with manual occupations had a higher use of AEP drugs. In Tirana, ASH drug use was higher among those with low income.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An inverse association was observed between socioeconomic standing and psychotropic drug use in Canada, while the opposite was true in Latin America. Albania was notable for an absence of antidepressant use and greater use of ASH drugs among low-income groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada. noufou.gustave.nana@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Gustave Noufou
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Nana
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada. boukare.doulougou@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Boukaré
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Doulougou
authors.affiliation: Research group on gerontology and geriatrics, University of Caldas, Manizales, Colombia. gomez.montes@ucaldas.edu.co.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Public Health, Tirana, Albania. albanylli@yahoo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Alban
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ylli
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Division of Gerontology, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA. jguralnik@epi.umaryland.edu.
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guralnik
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada. maria.victoria.zunzunegui@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Maria Victoria
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Zunzunegui
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000415:Albania / Q000453:epidemiology; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000145:classification / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs