Prevalence of Psychotropic Medication Use Among Dutch Military Personnel Between 2003 and 2012 and Its Comparison to the Dutch General Population

Background: The armed forces work under high pressure and in stressful environments and it is well known that being in the military is a risk factor for psychiatric problems. However, it remains unknown how prevalent psychotropic medication use is in military personnel. 

 

 

Objective: To assess prevalence of psychotropic medication use in Dutch military personnel and compare to the Dutch general population. 

 

 

Methods: Data were obtained from the military pharmacy. From 2003 to 2012, the year-prevalence of psychotropic medication use was calculated from the number of distributed psychotropic medications and the number of Dutch military personnel. For the year 2011, the year-prevalence of psychotropic medication use in the military was compared to that of the Dutch general population. 

 

 

Results: The yearprevalence of psychotropic medication use increased by 55%, from 1.64% in 2003 to 2.54% in 2012 in Dutch military personnel. An increase is seen in the number of users of psychotropic medication. Also the use of antidepressants and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medication increased. 

 

 

Conclusion: Over the last decade, there has been a 1.5-fold increase in psychotropic medication dispensed to Dutch military personnel. However, Dutch military personnel were significantly less likely to use psychotropic medications compared to the Dutch general population.



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Reference: 
MAJ Debbie G. A. Janssen, MC Royal Netherlands Army, COL Eric Vermetten, MC Royal Netherlands Army, Toine C. G. Egberts, PhD, Eibert R. Heerdink, PhD | 2017
In: Militairy Medicine, ISSN 0026-4075 ; eISSN 1930-613X | 182 | 1/2 | January / February | e1584–e1588
https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-15-00397
Keywords: 
Antidepressant Drugs, Military Personnel, Netherlands, Psychopharmacology, Scientific Research, Veterans