Who is portrayed in psychotropic drug advertisements?

The purpose of our study was to determine who is portrayed in psychotropic drug advertisements across time in three national psychiatric journals. All psychotropic drug advertisements portraying people were collected from the American Journal of Psychiatry, the British Journal of Psychiatry, and the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry at three time intervals (1981, 1991, and 2001). The advertisements were classified according to patient demographics, patient portrayal, and product information. Chi-square analysis was used to test for statistically significant associations among the variables. Fifty-seven percent of the psychotropic drug advertisements featured women, and 88% portrayed white patients. Statistically significant associations were detected between gender and the setting in which the patient was portrayed (chi(2) = 13.54, df = 3, p < 0.004), and gender and role (chi(2) = 29.41, df = 3, p < 0.001). Disproportionate gender representation was most notable in the 2001 time interval in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Women and white patients were overrepresented compared with psychiatric epidemiologic data in all three countries. The effect of these advertisements on physician perception, diagnosis, and prescribing is unknown but may be substantial. Future advertisements for psychotropic drugs should seek more balanced representations of gender and race.