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New antidepressant utilization pre- and post-bereavement: a population-based study of partners and adult children

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Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Bereavement is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, but few studies have examined the specific timing of depression onset. This study examines the risk of developing new-onset depression in adult children and partners by month, 1 year before and after death.

Methods

Using population-based registers in Denmark, we assembled a cohort of 236,000 individuals who died a natural death (2010–2016). Partners and adult children of the deceased were identified and demographic and prescription data were collected. GEE logistic regression was used to model whether the bereaved received a new antidepressant prescription around the death of their loved one across 24 time intervals (12 months before and after death).

Results

Male and female partners had an increase in receipt of new antidepressant prescriptions in the 11 months after the death of their partner, with a peak increase 2 or 3 months after death. Partners also increased new antidepressant prescription use 2 months before death. Characteristics of the decedents including cause of death were not associated with new antidepressant prescription in the surviving partner. Adult children did not have increased odds of being prescribed new antidepressants at any time.

Conclusion

Both male and female partners have increase in new antidepressant utilization before and after the death of their partner. Our work points to the importance of supporting partners not only after the death of their partner, but also in the period before death when families may be actively engaged in caregiving for the seriously ill.

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Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Palliative Care Research Center of the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Aging under award number K01AG047923. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA

    Katherine A. Ornstein, Melissa Aldridge & Christina Gillezeau

  2. National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Marie S. Kristensen, Tatjana Gazibara & Lau C. Thygesen

  3. Institute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Beograd, Serbia

    Tatjana Gazibara

  4. University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Mogens Groenvold

Authors
  1. Katherine A. Ornstein
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  2. Melissa Aldridge
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  3. Christina Gillezeau
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  4. Marie S. Kristensen
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  5. Tatjana Gazibara
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  6. Mogens Groenvold
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  7. Lau C. Thygesen
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by LCT. The first draft of the manuscript was written by CG. All authors commented on a previous version of the manuscript. The study was conceptualized by KAO and LCT. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katherine A. Ornstein.

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The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

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Ornstein, K.A., Aldridge, M., Gillezeau, C. et al. New antidepressant utilization pre- and post-bereavement: a population-based study of partners and adult children. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 55, 1261–1271 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01857-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01857-1

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