Time trends of antidepressant drug prescriptions in men versus women in a geographically defined US population

Zhong, Wenjun; Kremers, Hilal Maradit; Yawn, Barbara P.; Bobo, William V.; Sauver, Jennifer L. St.; Ebbert, Jon O.; Rutten, Lila J. Finney; Jacobson, Debra J.; Brue, Scott M.; Rocca, Walter A.

doi:10.1007/s00737-014-0450-7

Cited by 25 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The prevalence and incidence of AD prescriptions was consistently higher amongst females than males. Although, as found in some previous studies [ 25 , 26 ] there was a decrease in the ratio of female to male prescribing over time, indicating that AD prescribing has increased more in males. This could suggest there has been an increase in help-seeking behaviour in males, an increase in depression, or an increase in the number of males prescribed an AD for other indications.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Influences on antidepressant prescribing trends in the UK: 1995–2011

Mars¹,

Heron²,

Keßler³

et al. 2016

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

124

114

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PurposeThe number of antidepressants prescribed in the UK has been increasing over the last 25 years; however, the reasons for this are not clear. This study examined trends in antidepressant prescribing in the UK between 1995 and 2011 according to age, sex, and drug class, and investigated reasons for the increase in prescribing over this period.MethodsThis is a retrospective analysis of antidepressant prescribing data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink: a large, anonymised, primary care database in the UK. The dataset used in this study included 138 practices, at which a total of 1,524,201 eligible patients were registered across the 17-year period. The proportion of patients who received at least one antidepressant prescription and the number of patients who started a course of antidepressants were calculated for each year of the study. We used person years (PY) at risk as the denominator. The duration of treatment for those starting antidepressants was also examined.Results23% of patients were prescribed an antidepressant on at least one occasion over the 17-year study period. Antidepressant prescriptions rose from 61.9 per 1000 PY in 1995 to 129.9 per 1000 PY in 2011. This was largely driven by an increase in prescribing of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and ‘other’ antidepressants. In contrast, incidence rates of those starting antidepressants remained relatively stable (1995: 21.3 per 1000 PY; 2011: 17.9 per 1000 PY). The duration of treatment increased with later starting years, with an increasing proportion of long-term use, and decrease in short-term use.ConclusionThe increase in antidepressant prescribing over the study period appears to be driven by an increase in long-term use of these medications.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00127-016-1306-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Influences on antidepressant prescribing trends in the UK: 1995–2011

Mars¹,

Heron²,

Keßler³

et al. 2016

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

124

114

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In this study, we found that approximately 1.6 times more antidepressant prescriptions were prescribed to women than to men. This is not surprising, given that the prevalence and incidence of depression, as well as other psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and bipolar disorder, have previously been found to be higher for women than for men ( 20 , 24 – 26 ). There was no difference in the sex ratio for antidepressant visits across the study years, which indicates that the relative distribution of the burden of depression and related conditions between men and women has not changed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Trends in Antidepressant Use and Expenditure in Six Major Cities in China From 2013 to 2018

Zhang

Zheng³

et al. 2020

Front. Psychiatry

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The objective of this study was to investigate the current status and trends in antidepressant use and expenditure in China from 2013 to 2018. The study had a retrospective design based on prescribing data on antidepressant drugs, which was sourced from the Hospital Prescription Analysis Cooperative Project. The trends in hospital visits and corresponding expenditure on antidepressant drugs were examined. Subgroup analyses were carried out by sex, age, and drug class. A total of 1,795,230 outpatient prescriptions were collected from 79 hospitals in six major cities in China. Hospital visits with antidepressant prescriptions rose significantly from 244,626 in 2013 to 348,718 in 2018, reflecting a 42.6% increase (P < 0.05). The antidepressant expenditure also rose, increasing from 48.0 million Chinese yuan in 2013 to 64.8 million Chinese yuan in 2018. There were approximately 1.6 times more antidepressant prescriptions written for women than for men. The most frequent age category for antidepressant prescriptions was 45-64 years. The most commonly prescribed antidepressants were selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (N06AB) and other antidepressants (N06AX), whereas tricyclic antidepressants (N06AA) accounted for only a small part of the total antidepressant prescriptions. Flupentixol/melitracen and escitalopram were the most frequently prescribed antidepressants. Antidepressant prescribing rates continue to increase in China, although the prescribing patterns have changed over the past few years. The wide use of expensive antidepressants and those with weak clinical evidence raises concerns regarding the rational use of antidepressants. This study provides a basis for future stewardship by the government and medical institutions.

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“…Other studies have examined trends in use of treatments for specific conditions (such as depression and anxiety disorders) or specific types of treatments (such as antidepressants and psychotherapy).…”

Section: United Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Has increased provision of treatment reduced the prevalence of common mental disorders? Review of the evidence from four countries

et al. 2017

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Many people identified as having common mental disorders in community surveys do not receive treatment. Modelling has suggested that closing this "treatment gap" should reduce the population prevalence of those disorders. To evaluate the effects of reducing the treatment gap in industrialized countries, data from 1990 to 2015 were reviewed from four English-speaking countries: Australia, Canada, England and the US. These data show that the prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders and symptoms has not decreased, despite substantial increases in the provision of treatment, particularly antidepressants. Several hypotheses for this lack of improvement were considered. There was no support for the hypothesis that reductions in prevalence due to treatment have been masked by increases in risk factors. However, there was little evidence relevant to the hypothesis that improvements have been masked by increased reporting of symptoms because of greater public awareness of common mental disorders or willingness to disclose. A more strongly supported hypothesis for the lack of improvement is that much of the treatment provided does not meet the minimal standards of clinical practice guidelines and is not targeted optimally to those in greatest need. Lack of attention to prevention of common mental disorders may also be a factor. Reducing the prevalence of common mental disorders remains an unsolved challenge for health systems globally, which may require greater attention to the "quality gap" and "prevention gap". There is also a need for nations to monitor outcomes by using standardized measures of service provision and mental disorders over time.

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Time trends of antidepressant drug prescriptions in men versus women in a geographically defined US population

Cited by 25 publications

References 31 publications

Influences on antidepressant prescribing trends in the UK: 1995–2011

Influences on antidepressant prescribing trends in the UK: 1995–2011

Trends in Antidepressant Use and Expenditure in Six Major Cities in China From 2013 to 2018

Has increased provision of treatment reduced the prevalence of common mental disorders? Review of the evidence from four countries

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