Antidepressant prescribing in five European countries: application of common definitions to assess the prevalence, clinical observations, and methodological implications

V. Abbing-Karahagopian; C. Huerta; P. C. Souverein; F. de Abajo; H. G. M. Leufkens; J. Slattery; Y. Alvarez; M. Miret; M. Gil; B. Oliva; U. Hesse; G. Requena; F. de Vries; M. Rottenkolber; S. Schmiedl; R. Reynolds; R. G. Schlienger; M. C. H. de Groot; O. H. Klungel; T. P. van Staa; L. van Dijk; A. C. G. Egberts; H. Gardarsdottir; M. L. De Bruin

doi:10.1007/s00228-014-1676-z

European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology

July 2014, Volume 70, Issue 7, pp 849–857

Antidepressant prescribing in five European countries: application of common definitions to assess the prevalence, clinical observations, and methodological implications

Authors
Authors and affiliations

V. Abbing-Karahagopian
C. Huerta
P. C. Souverein
F. de Abajo
H. G. M. Leufkens
J. Slattery
Y. Alvarez
M. Miret
M. Gil
B. Oliva
U. Hesse
G. Requena
F. de Vries
M. Rottenkolber
S. Schmiedl
R. Reynolds
R. G. Schlienger
M. C. H. de Groot
O. H. Klungel
T. P. van Staa
L. van Dijk
A. C. G. Egberts
H. Gardarsdottir
M. L. De BruinEmail author

Pharmacoepidemiology and Prescription

First Online:: 03 May 2014

Received:: 13 September 2013
Accepted:: 30 March 2014

25 Citations
1 Shares
699 Downloads

Abstract

Purpose

Drug utilization studies have applied different methods to various data types to describe medication use, which hampers comparisons across populations. The aim of this study was to describe the time trends in antidepressant prescribing in the last decade and the variation in the prevalence, calculated in a uniform manner, in seven European electronic healthcare databases.

Methods

Annual prevalence per 10,000 person-years (PYs) was calculated for 2001–2009 in databases from Spain, Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom (UK), and the Netherlands. Prevalence data were stratified according to age, sex, antidepressant type (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors [SSRIs] or tricyclic antidepressants [TCAs]) and major indications.

Results

The age- and sex-standardized prevalence was lowest in the two Dutch (391 and 429 users per 10,000 PYs) and highest in the two UK (913 and 936 users per 10,000 PYs) populations in 2008. The prevalence in the Danish, German, and Spanish populations was 637, 618, and 644 users per 10,000 PY respectively. Antidepressants were prescribed most often in 20- to 60-year-olds in the two UK populations compared with the others. SSRIs were prescribed more often than TCAs in all except the German population. In the majority of countries we observed an increasing trend of antidepressant prescribing over time. Two different methods identifying recorded indications yielded different ranges of proportions of patients recorded with the specific indication (15–57 % and 39–69 % for depression respectively).

Conclusion

Despite applying uniform methods, variations in the prevalence of antidepressant prescribing were obvious in the different populations. Database characteristics and clinical factors may both explain these variations.

Keywords

Antidepressants Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors Tricyclic antidepressants Prevalence Electronic healthcare databases Standardization

Supplementary material

228_2014_1676_MOESM1_ESM.docx (11 kb)

ESM 1(DOCX 11 kb)

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Copyright information

Authors and Affiliations

V. Abbing-Karahagopian
- 1
C. Huerta
- 2
P. C. Souverein
- 1
F. de Abajo
- 3
- 4
H. G. M. Leufkens
- 1
- 5
J. Slattery
- 6
Y. Alvarez
- 6
M. Miret
- 7
M. Gil
- 2
B. Oliva
- 2
U. Hesse
- 8
G. Requena
- 4
F. de Vries
- 1
- 9
M. Rottenkolber
- 10
S. Schmiedl
- 11
R. Reynolds
- 12
R. G. Schlienger
- 13
M. C. H. de Groot
- 1
O. H. Klungel
- 1
T. P. van Staa
- 1
- 14
L. van Dijk
- 1
- 15
A. C. G. Egberts
- 1
- 16
H. Gardarsdottir
- 1
- 16
M. L. De Bruin
- 1
- 5
Email author

1.Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical PharmacologyUtrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
2.BIFAP Research Unit, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and PharmacovigilanceAgencia Espanola de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios (AEMPS)MadridSpain
3.Clinical Pharmacology UnitUniversity Hospital Príncipe de AsturiasMadridSpain
4.Department of Pharmacology, School of MedicineUniversity of AlcaláMadridSpain
5.MEB, Medicines Evaluation BoardUtrechtThe Netherlands
6.EMA, European Medicines AgencyLondonUK
7.Merck KGaAGenevaSwitzerland
8.National Institute for Health Data and Disease ControlCopenhagenDenmark
9.Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Toxicology University Medical Center Maastricht and School for Public Health and Primary care (CAPHRI)Maastricht UniversityMaastrichtThe Netherlands
10.Institute for Medical Information Sciences, Biometry and EpidemiologyLudwig-Maximilians-UniversitaetMunichGermany
11.Department of Clinical Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Witten/Herdecke University, Germany/Philipp Klee-Institute for Clinical PharmacologyHELIOS ClinicWuppertalGermany
12.PfizerNew YorkUSA
13.Global Clinical EpidemiologyNovartis Pharma AGBaselSwitzerland
14.CPRD, Clinical Practice Research DatalinkLondonUK
15.NIVEL, Netherlands Institute for Healthcare ResearchUtrechtThe Netherlands
16.UMCU, University Medical Center UtrechtUtrechtThe Netherlands

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Cite this article as:: Abbing-Karahagopian, V., Huerta, C., Souverein, P.C. et al. Eur J Clin Pharmacol (2014) 70: 849. doi:10.1007/s00228-014-1676-z

Antidepressant prescribing in five European countries: application of common definitions to assess the prevalence, clinical observations, and methodological implications

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Keywords

Supplementary material

Copyright information

Authors and Affiliations

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