[Prescription of psychopharmaceuticals in general practice. 1. A registry study in the county of Arhus]

Abstract

Prescription of psychotropic drugs by general practitioners was registered by means of a multicenter-questionnaire investigation in the County of Arhus. A total of 227 doctors registered 4,180 prescriptions to 3,756 patients during one week. The sex ratio (m/f) was 0.5, calculated not only from the number of prescriptions but also from the defined daily doses (DDD). The frequencies of prescribing increased markedly with age so that for men and women in the age group 70+, these were 188 and 322 DDD/1,000 of the population per 24 hours, respectively. Benzodiazepines constituted 67.3% of all of the prescriptions and 76.9% of the prescribed DDD while neuroleptics constituted 13.6% and 3.9% and antidepressives 9.5% and 7.0%, respectively. Neuroleptics were prescribed in doses of about 1/5 DDD. About 50% of the first prescriptions but only 17% of the renewed prescriptions were undertaken by direct doctor-patient contact in connection with consultations or visits in the home. Prescription of psychotropic drug by general practitioners is estimated to constitute just under 90% of the psychotropic drug in the County of Arhus.