Psychotropic drug use in an urban primary care clinic.

The prevalence and pattern of psychotropic drug use was investigated in an urban walk-in clinic in Nigeria during the course of a two-stage epidemiological survey. A total of 14.9% of the patients were using psychotropic drugs, with almost all the users taking anxiolytics. There was no significant sex difference in the prevalence of drug taking. Almost half of the users had been on the drug for over 12 months. Increasing age was associated with psychotropic drug taking in females while being married had a similar association in males. While increasing score on the GHQ-12 was associated with drug taking, over two-thirds of patients with DSM-IIIR disorders identified during the second-stage interview were not taking any psychotropic drug.