Prescribing patterns of antidepressants in Europe: Results from the Factors Influencing Depression Endpoints Research (FINDER) study

Abstract

Antidepressant prescribing patterns and factors influencing the choice of antidepressant for the treatment of depression were examined in the Factors Influencing Depression Endpoints Research (FINDER) study, a prospective, observational study in 12 European countries of 3468 adults about to start antidepressant medication for their first episode of depression or a new episode of recurrent depression. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were the most commonly prescribed antidepressant (63.3% patients), followed by serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs, 13.6%), but there was considerable variation across countries. Notably, tricyclic and tetracyclic antidepressants (TCAs) were prescribed for 26.5% patients in Germany. The choice of the antidepressant prescribed was strongly influenced by the previous use of antidepressants, which was significantly associated with the prescription of a SSRI (OR 0.64; 95% CI 0.54, 0.76), a SNRI (OR 1.49; 95% CI 1.18, 1.88) or a combination of antidepressants (OR 2.78; 95% CI 1.96, 3.96). Physician factors (age, gender, speciality) and patient factors (severity of depression, age, education, smoking, number of current physical conditions and functional syndromes) were associated with initial antidepressant choice in some models. In conclusion, the prescribing of antidepressants varies by country, and the type of antidepressant chosen is influenced by physician- as well as patient-related factors.

Pattern of antidepressant prescription at tertiary (mental hospital vs medical college) care centre of central India

“…8 The finding of this study also similar with finding of other study from the West and multi-country study from East Asia. 5,11,12 However, the percentage of prescription of SSRIs in the present study is higher than that reported in these studies. In the present study Mirtazepine formed the 8% of the total antidepressant prescriptions.…”

“…[5][6][7] In Indian studies also evaluated antidepressant prescription from multicentre study and single center. [8][9][10] To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study from central India to evaluate the antidepressant prescription pattern at Mental hospital and medical college centers.…”

Prescribing Patterns of Antidepressants among Depressive Men in Malaysia: A Survey

“…Recent drug utilization studies; however, have demonstrated that SSRIs are the preferable antidepressants in many countries, as apparent from several studies across various populations. 8,12,13,14,15,16 Even so, SSRIs hold no superiority in terms of efficacy when compared to other antidepressants. 12 There is little published research concerning the prescribing pattern of antidepressants in Malaysia.…”

“…Following this step, another revolutionary step was achieved in the 1980s, with the introduction of fluoxetine, the first member of the totally new antidepressants' family; i.e., the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). 11 Starting from the early 2000s, an increment in not only the numbers, but also the types of antidepressants was at hand for clinical practice, 12 which provides several choices for clinicians for a better and safer selection of medications for the management of depressive disorders. TCAs and tetracyclic antidepressants (TeCAs) were the first-line drugs for depression treatment over several years.…”

Neural Correlates of Antidepressant-Related Sexual Dysfunction: A Placebo-Controlled fMRI Study on Healthy Males Under Subchronic Paroxetine and Bupropion

“…Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most widely prescribed antidepressant drugs (Bauer et al, 2008). For the majority of relevant diagnoses, regular intake is recommended for months or even longer (Gaebel and Falkai, 2001).…”