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

• AbstractBackground. Despite the problems involved in treating depression and concomitant medical disease, there are virtually no longitudinal studies on drug utilisation among depressed patients.MethodUse 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.ResultsThe 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.ConclusionsThe 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.

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MEDICINE

MEDICIN

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