[The effect of family and social relations on the consumption of psychotropic drugs by the aged]. / L'influence des relations familiales et sociales sur la consommation de médicaments psychotropes chez les personnes âgés.

Psychotropic drugs are the second most commonly used medication by Quebec's elderly. The objective of this study is to test a theoretical model of psychotropic drug use in the elderly. The principal hypothesis is that the quality of relationships the elderly person has with others, particularly with his or her children, has a direct influence on his or her psychological well-being, which, in turn, directly affects the consumption of psychotropic agents. A survey was conducted on a sample of 500 elderly people, aged 65-84 years, living at home. 31.8% of the respondents used psychotropic drugs during the three-month period preceding the interview. Path analysis led to the elaboration of a modified model for the consumption of psychotropic drugs by the elderly which indicates that the best predictors of consumption are both the psychological well-being and the state of health of the individual. More elevated is the psychological well-being, less is the consumption of psychotropic drugs, whereas poor health condition increases it. The quality of an individual's social relationships has a direct influence on his or her psychological well-being, whereas family relationships are of lesser importance. Our model accounts for 13% of the predictors of psychotropic consumption by the elderly.

The influence of family and social relationships on the consumption of psychotropic drugs by the elderly.

Psychotropic drugs are the second most commonly used medication by Quebec's elderly. The objective of this study is to test a theoretical model of psychotropic drug use in the elderly. The principal hypothesis is that the quality of relationships the elderly person has with others, particularly with his or her children, has a direct influence on his or her psychological well-being, which, in turn, directly affects the consumption of psychotropic agents. A survey was conducted on a sample of 500 elderly people, aged 65-84 years, living at home. Of the respondents, 31.8% used psychotropic drugs during the 3-month period preceding the interview. Path analysis led to the elaboration of a modified model for the consumption of psychotropic drugs by the elderly which indicates that the best predictors of consumption are both the psychological well-being and the state of health of the individual. The more the psychological well-being is elevated, the lower the consumption of psychotropic drugs is, whereas a poor health condition increases it. The quality of an individual's social relationships has a direct influence on his or her psychological well-being, whereas family relationships are of lesser importance. Our model accounts for 13% of the predictors of psychotropic consumption by the elderly. Further studies will consider the personality of the user, the doctor-patient relationship, the prescribing habits of physicians and the influence of advertising by pharmacological industry.

Evaluation of skin temperature biofeedback training at two different sites for migraine.

All combinations of cooling versus warming and finger versus temporal artery were used in the present study, the aim of which was to identify an optimal biofeedback training site and to assess the specific effects of skin temperature biofeedback upon migraine. After an initial 4-week baseline phase, during which daily records of headache activity and medication were kept, 24 migraine patients were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions. Training sessions for all patients were of 50-min duration and occurred once per week for 8 weeks. The headache charts were completed for another 4 weeks after treatment was terminated and again at 6-month follow-up. The results showed significant reductions in migraine activity and drug usage. However, self-regulation of skin temperature in different directions at different sites did not in fact result in significantly different magnitudes of change in migraine activity across groups. The role of nonspecific factors is discussed and a physiological model is proposed to explain how warming and cooling may produce clinical improvement in migraine.