Antidepressant-treated patients in ambulatory care long-term use of non- psychotropic and psychotropic drugs

Despite the problems involved in treating depression and concomitant medical disease, there are virtually no longitudinal studies on drug utilisation among depressed patients. Use of prescription drugs among all first-time users of antidepressants in a defined population five years before and six ye...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of psychiatry 1996-03, Vol.168 (3), p.292-298
Main Authors: Bingefors, K, Isacson, D, Von Knorring, L, Smedby, B, Ekselius, L, Kupper, LL
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Ambulatory Care
Ambulatory health care
Antidepressant drugs
Antidepressants
Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use
Depressive Disorder - drug therapy
Depressive Disorder - psychology
Depressive Disorder - rehabilitation
Female
Health problems
Humans
Male
MEDICIN
MEDICINE
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Middle Aged
Patients
Prescription drugs
Primary health care
Psychiatry
Psychotropic drugs
Psychotropic Drugs - therapeutic use
Retrospective Studies
Side effects
Somatoform Disorders - psychology
Sweden
Use
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Summary:Despite the problems involved in treating depression and concomitant medical disease, there are virtually no longitudinal studies on drug utilisation among depressed patients. Use of prescription drugs among all first-time users of antidepressants in a defined population five years before and six years after the index (first) treatment was compared to a referent group without antidepressant treatment. The generalised estimating equations (GEE) method was used for analysis. The antidepressant-treated group used considerably more non-psychotropic drugs during the whole study period than the referent group. They also used more psychotropic drugs, a use which increased in connection with the initiation of antidepressant treatment, and stayed high for a further five years. The high use of prescription drugs indicated widespread somatic and psychiatric health problems during the whole study period. Antidepressant-treated patients are at risk for drug interactions and adverse effects, and would benefit from a closer collaboration between psychiatry and medicine.
ISSN:0007-1250
1472-1465
1472-1465
DOI:10.1192/bjp.168.3.292