[Characteristics of physicians prescribing more psychotropic drugs to women than to men].

In industrialized countries, gender differences observed in health condition and the use of medical services appear insufficient to explain a greater consumption of psychotropic drugs in women than men. The authors have tested the hypothesis that physician prescribing patterns largely explains this observation. They demonstrate, using data from the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec for people aged 65 and over, that physicians' sociodemographic and practice characteristics are significantly associated with the percentage of men and women who receive a psychotropic drug prescription in their practice.