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Trends in utilization of antiepileptic drugs in Denmark
Author(s) -
Tsiropoulos I.,
Gichangi A.,
Andersen M.,
Bjerrum L.,
Gaist D.,
Hallas J.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2006.00639.x
Subject(s) - antiepileptic drug , medicine , epilepsy , psychiatry
Objectives – To describe utilization of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in Denmark during 1993–2002, with special emphasis on oxcarbazepine, and to assess probable indications for AED use. Materials and methods – We retrieved prescription data from Odense University Pharmacoepidemiological Database, in Funen County, Denmark (population in 2002: 472,869). Within each calendar year we estimated period prevalence, incidence rate and monotherapy rate. Based on co‐medication we defined ‘epilepsy’ when only AEDs were prescribed, ‘pain’ with co‐prescription of opioids, and ‘mood disorder’ with co‐prescription of antipsychotics or antidepressants. Results – We identified 15,604 AED users. The prevalence of using AED increased from 9.3 (95% CI, 9–9.5) to 12.1 (11.8–12.4)/1000 persons. The incidence rate increased from 1.4 (1.3–1.6) to 1.7 (1.6–1.9)/1000 personyears. The monotherapy rate was 79–82%. AED use for ‘epilepsy’ declined by 19.7%, whereas the proportion of ‘pain’ and ‘mood disorder’ treatment increased by 11.2% and 8.4% respectively. Conclusions – Antiepileptic drug utilization increased during the study period, the increase probably caused by expanding use in areas other than epilepsy.