{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]],"date-time":"2026-04-10T14:52:15Z","timestamp":1775832735179,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"23","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,5]],"date-time":"2024-12-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1733356800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: The prevalence of mental health disorders has been rising in Saudi Arabia, which may have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the aim of our study was to examine the usage patterns of various psychotropic drugs before and during the pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the psychiatric outpatient clinic of a single hospital in Saudi Arabia from 1 October 2018 to 31 March 2023. Electronic medical records were used to gather information on all adult patients who were prescribed at least one antidepressant, antipsychotic, or anxiolytic\/sedative\/hypnotic medication. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression model. Results: In the 4846 participants in the study, the total frequently prescribed psychotropics during the pandemic were antidepressants (2119 prescriptions), then antipsychotics (1509 prescriptions), and anxiolytics\/sedatives\/hypnotics (780 prescriptions). The mean before and during the pandemic for olanzapine was (41.86 vs. 23.55) and risperidone was (39.00 vs. 22.18), indicating a significant difference for both medications (p = 0.0003). Psychotropic drug use during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly higher among the female patients (OR = 1.15, 95% CI [1.06\u20131.26]) and those aged 18\u201339 years (OR = 1.65, 95% CI [1.52\u20131.80]). Antidepressant and antipsychotic use were significantly lower than anxiolytic\/sedative\/hypnotic use during the pandemic (OR = 0.74, 95% CI [0.65\u20130.84]; OR = 0.66, 95% CI [0.58\u20130.75], respectively). Conclusions: The prescription rate of anxiolytics\/sedatives\/hypnotics was higher than that of antidepressants and antipsychotics. Furthermore, women and individuals aged \u226440 years were at a higher risk of psychotropic medication use. To mitigate stress, anxiety, and depression in Saudi Arabia, policymakers should implement mental health screening initiatives.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm13237419","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,5]],"date-time":"2024-12-05T06:24:44Z","timestamp":1733379884000},"page":"7419","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The Use of Psychotropic Medications Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Associated Factors"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9578-9790","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammed M.","family":"Alsultan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Clinical Pharmacy, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 34212, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"470","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(20)30185-9","article-title":"A novel coronavirus outbreak of global health concern","volume":"395","author":"Wang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"157","article-title":"WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic","volume":"91","author":"Cucinotta","year":"2020","journal-title":"Acta Biomed."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2020). 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