Epidemiological Approach to the Use of Psychotropic Medications at Moulay El Hassan Hospital, in the Gharb Region of Morocco

Abstract

The use of psychotropic drugs is important in Morocco related to the large amount of sufferers by psychiatric disorders, according to a survey of the Moroccan Ministry of Health (2010). A prevalence of 26.5% of depressive disorders, and 9% for generalized anxiety disorder, and 5.6% of psychotic disorders was recorded within population, hence the importance to describe the use and assess the prevalence of psychotropic and socio-economic factors was associated with their use. Our research is a retrospective study, carried out between February 2010-December 2013, holding a sample of 5618 patients aged between 1 and 90 years old. The study is concerned with drawing social and clinical data from patients' records. The different classes of psychotropic drugs prescribed to patients in the psychiatric department Moulay El Hassan Hospital, vary between antidepressants (36%), antipsychotics (32%), anxiolytics (10%), anti-epileptics (9%), the class of diverse "sulpiride" (7%), anti-parkinsonian (6%), and hypnotics were prescribed in rare cases. The relationship between socio-economic factors and the take of a psychotropic treatment was very strong in Morocco. In contrast, the patients support showed by close families and the health care staff remain a challenge for Moroccan population.