Background: The majority of studies show a substantially higher consumption of anxiolytics and antidepressants among women than among men and in the age bracket above 45 years.
Aims: To analyse association between the use of hypnotics/anxiolytics, and various characteristics of Polish women, including health-related quality of life.
Method: One thousand, five hundred and sixty (1,560) women aged 45–60 years completed a questionnaire dealing with the use of hypnotics/anxiolytics, demographic characteristics, environmental and work stress exposure, and self-reported quality of life (SF-36 form).
Results: The following variables were revealed as the predictors of hypnotic/anxiolytic use on univariate analysis: age; social pension; stress at work and environmental stress; hormone replacement therapy; headache; palpitations; mood swings or increased muscular tension; anger; duration of symptoms longer than one week; consulting a specialist; and low physical and mental health-related quality of life. The significant protective factors included: vocational and tertiary education; job satisfaction; and home as place of rest. The independent predictors of anxiolytic/hypnotic use included consulting a specialist and symptoms lasting more than one week, while job satisfaction and home as place of rest were the independent protective factors.
Conclusions: The use of hypnotic/anxiolytic medication is strongly associated with environmental and psychosocial characteristics of women between 40 and 65 years of age.