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National trend of antidepressant consumption and its impact on suicide rate in Hungary
Author(s) -
Viola Réka,
Benkő Ria,
Nagy Gábor,
Soós Gyöngyvér
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.023
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1099-1557
pISSN - 1053-8569
DOI - 10.1002/pds.1574
Subject(s) - antidepressant , medicine , defined daily dose , pharmacoepidemiology , consumption (sociology) , demography , psychiatry , environmental health , pharmacology , drug , medical prescription , anxiety , social science , sociology
Purpose The aim of this study was to analyse the changes in the amount and structure of Hungarian antidepressant consumption at national and regional level, furthermore to investigate the possible relationship between antidepressant sales and trends in suicide rates using regional data. Method Retrospective analysis of antidepressant sales data was performed on a 12 years period (1993–2004), applying the ATC/DDD methodology developed by WHO. Linear regression model was set up to investigate the trends in antidepressant utilisation. The association between antidepressant consumption and suicide rates was measured by Pearson correlation. Results The nationwide utilisation of antidepressants revealed more than five‐fold increase in the studied 12 year period. The usage of tricyclic antidepressants (N06AA) decreased to one third of the previous value, while the usage of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (N06AB) multiplied by 21. The consumption of ‘other antidepressants’ (N06AX) was found very low (3.66 DDD/1000inhabitants/day in 2004). There was not found any significant correlation between increased antidepressant consumption and decreased suicide rates at regional level by our statistical analysis ( r min = −0.160; r max = −0.314). Conclusion Further investigation is required to identify determinants that have contributed to recent decline in suicide rate in Hungary. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.