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Indications for and outcome of antidepressant medication in a general population: a prescription database and medical record study, in Jämtland county, Sweden, 1995
Author(s) -
Henriksson S.,
Boëthius G.,
Håkansson J.,
Isacsson G.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1046/j.0001-690x.2003.00166.x
Subject(s) - tricyclic , medical prescription , depression (economics) , antidepressant , tricyclic antidepressant , medicine , medical record , psychiatry , population , antidepressant medication , database , pharmacology , anxiety , environmental health , economics , macroeconomics , computer science
Objective: To examine the indications for prescribing antidepressants and the clinical outcome when they are prescribed for the treatment of depression, and compare tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and selective serotonin re‐uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in these respects. Method: A naturalistic study of a prospective prescription monitoring database and medical records. Results: Depression was the indication for 23% of the tricyclic treatments and for 82% of the SSRI treatments. A successful treatment of the depression was found in 20% of the TCA cases and 41% of the SSRI cases (NS). Conclusion: This study provides evidence that the main use of SSRIs in 1995 is the treatment of depression. The study implies that SSRIs have a more favourable outcome in ‘real life’ than TCAs.