Cohort of one million patients initiating antidepressant treatment in France: 12-month follow-up

Abstract

SummaryAims: Previous studies have shown that the recommended minimum 6-month period for antidepressant treatment is actually observed for only a minority of patients. The objectives of this study were to characterise patients with newly prescribed antidepressant treatment in France and identify factors possibly associated with insufficient duration of treatment or the occurrence of certain events such as sick leave, hospitalisations and suicide attempts. Results: A total of 998 710 patients (2% of the overall population), with a mean age of 50 years and 66% of females, initiated an antidepressant in 2011, which was prescribed by a general practitioner in 89% of cases. Five generic names, including three selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, accounted for 75% of first prescriptions. Only one reimbursement was observed for 40% of patients. Treatment duration was less than 6 months for more than 80% of patients, more frequently for low income earners, and varied according to age, gender and region. The median time lag between first visit and antidepressant initiation was 27 days. Hospitalisation related to a psychiatric disease over the following 12 months was observed for 3% of patients. Conclusion:Duration of treatment and follow-up were both insufficient for the majority of French patients initiating antidepressant treatment in 2011, which may reflect poor quality of care for people with mood or anxiety disorders, possibly because of overdiagnosis and inappropriate drug treatment, or poor adherence and side effects, or poor follow-up.

Are articles labelled as “Editor's Choice” downloaded more?

“…As a bibliometric experiment, I made a list of all EC articles from 2016 to 2017, excluding editorials, and examined the number of downloads from the journal's website ascertained by Wiley as of 22 August 2018 (Table ). For the articles published in 2016 and 2017, I also compiled a list of the top 10 downloaded articles from the journal (Table ).…”

Detection of Cases of Noncompliance to Drug Treatment in Patient Forum Posts: Topic Model Approach (Preprint)

“…Escitalopram, Almost one million individuals (2% of the overall population) initiated an antidepressant in France in 2011 [41]. Patients' adherence to antidepressant therapy must be evaluated.…”

From banknotes to people: one million is impressive

“…In this issue of the International Journal of Clinical Practice , Fagot et al . extracted data from 998 710 patients (2% of the overall French population) from the French health insurance database and the national hospitalisation database.…”

“…2013;170(4):414-425. DOI: 10.1111/ijcp.12862 E D I T O R I A LColistin: revival in times of hardshipThe last two decades witnessed a decrease in the development and approval of new antimicrobial agents, paralleled by an increase in the resistance to the existing ones 1. Only two new classes of antibiotics reached the market over the last three decades, and for a compound that belongs to one of them, resistance among clinical isolates was already documented before its FDA approval [2][3]…”

“…[13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Its concentration-dependent bactericidal activity is not dependent on cellular entry or on the metabolic activity of the bacterial cell.18 Several models have been proposed to explain the mechanisms of actions of colistin.19 The consensus view is that the antibiotic binds to lipid A from the lipopolysaccharide molecules of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, where its polycationic ring displaces calcium and magnesium from the phosphate groups of lipopolysaccharides that stabilise the membrane. This results in the leakage of cytoplasmic material and cell lysis and death.16,[18][19][20][21] The N-terminal fatty acyl hydrophobic tail confers colistin specificity for Gram-negative bacteria.18,22 Colistin can be administered by several routes.20 The two forms that are commercially available are colistin sulphate for oral and topical use, and colistimethate sodium for parenteral and inhalation routes 1,…”