Preliminary study of patterns of medication use for depression treatment in C hina

This systematic review investigated drug utilization for depression and assessed trends in prescriptions in C hina. Major W estern and C hinese electronic databases were searched without language restriction for studies reporting defined daily doses. A total of 76 studies published between 2000 and 2010 reporting data on prescriptions for depression in C hina between 1996 and 2008 were included. All studies were published in C hinese. Most trials were conducted in urban areas in south and east C hina. Twenty‐nine drugs were reported as antidepressants. On the basis of defined daily doses, melitracen/flupentixol combination, fluoxetine, and paroxetine were the most frequently prescribed compounds. According to published evidence, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have become the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressant drugs in C hina.