Premium
Time to discontinuation among the three second‐generation antidepressants in a naturalistic outpatient setting of depression
Author(s) -
Lee Young Min,
Lee KyoungUk
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
psychiatry and clinical neurosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1440-1819
pISSN - 1323-1316
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1819.2011.02275.x
Subject(s) - discontinuation , mirtazapine , paroxetine , venlafaxine , depression (economics) , medicine , proportional hazards model , psychiatry , naturalistic observation , medical record , psychology , pediatrics , antidepressant , anxiety , social psychology , economics , macroeconomics
Aim: This study compared the discontinuation time among the three second‐generation antidepressants (paroxetine, venlafaxine, and mirtazapine) in a naturalistic setting for outpatient treatment of depression. Methods: This study used data from retrospectively reviewed medical records of patients admitted to an outpatient psychiatric clinic between January 2003 and December 2005. Patient groups (paroxetine‐, venlafaxine‐, and mirtazapine‐treated) were compared with each other with regard to their discontinuation times for a 6‐month period after treatment initiation. The data were analyzed, using a Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, and a Cox proportional hazards regression model. Results: There were no significant differences in discontinuation times among the three second‐generation antidepressants during the 6‐month period after initiation of drug therapy. Conclusions: In a naturalistic setting for the care of depression, it seems that there are no differences in discontinuation times among these three second‐generation antidepressants.