ArticlePsychological medicine2016
Recent trends in primary-care antidepressant prescribing to children and young people: an e-cohort study.
Article in Psychological medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- Change of antidepressant utilization in children, adolescents and young adults in Europe before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Discontinuing antidepressant medication: a qualitative evidence synthesis and logic model based on health professionals' views.BMC health services research · 2025Pooled it
- New generation antidepressants for depression in children and adolescents: a network meta-analysis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of antidepressants for the treatment of back pain and osteoarthritis: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2021Pooled it
- Prescription prevalence of psychotropic drugs in children and adolescents: an analysis of international data.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2019Pooled it
- Identification of mental health and quality of life outcomes in primary care databases in the UK: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2019Pooled it
- Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Treatment in Adolescence and Subsequent Risk of Nonaffective Psychosis: A Quasi-Experimental Study.Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica · 2026Article
- Population-Based Trends in Antidepressant Dispensing Among Children and Adolescents in Manitoba, Canada.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2026Article
- Social deprivation in adolescence and risk of depression in young adulthood: a longitudinal analysis of linked administrative data from Northern Ireland.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Article
- Social deprivation in adolescence and risk of depression in young adulthood: a longitudinal analysis of linked administrative data from Northern Ireland.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Article
- Antidepressant treatment and risk of subsequent bipolar disorder in adolescents with unipolar depression.BMJ mental health · 2025Article
- Self-harm before and during imprisonment: cohort study of males in prison linking population-based routinely collected data in Wales.BJPsych open · 2025Article
- A methylome-wide association study of major depression with out-of-sample case-control classification and trans-ancestry comparison.Nature. Mental health · 2025Article
- Pharmacoeconomic implications of preference toward reference- versus generic-brand antidepressants in primary care.Primary health care research & development · 2024Article
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- Patterns and trends of medicinal poisoning substances: a population-based cohort study of injuries in 0-11 year old children from 1998-2018.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2024Article
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- Incidence of anxiety and depression in children and young people with life-limiting conditions.Pediatric research · 2023Article
- Balancing the evidence: An update on analgesic use in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.Frontiers in drug safety and regulation · 2023Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundConcerns relating to increased use of psychotropic medication contrast with those of under-treatment and under-recognition of common mental disorders in children and young people (CYP) across developed countries. Little is known about the indications recorded for antidepressant prescribing in primary care in CYP.
methodThis was an electronic cohort study of routinely collected primary-care data from a population of 1.9 million, Wales, UK. Poisson regression was undertaken to model adjusted counts of recorded depression symptoms, diagnoses and antidepressant prescriptions. Associated indications were explored.
results3 58 383 registered patients aged 6-18 years between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2013 provided a total of 19 20 338 person-years of follow-up. The adjusted incidence of antidepressant prescribing increased significantly [incidence rate ratio (IRR) for 2013 = 1.28], mainly in older adolescents. The majority of new antidepressant prescriptions were for citalopram. Recorded depression diagnoses showed a steady decline (IRR = 0.72) while depression symptoms (IRR = 2.41) increased. Just over half of new antidepressant prescriptions were associated with depression (diagnosis or symptoms). Other antidepressant prescribing, largely unlicensed, was associated with diagnoses such as anxiety and pain.
conclusionAntidepressant prescribing is increasing in CYP while recorded depression diagnoses decline. Unlicensed citalopram prescribing occurs outside current guidelines, despite its known toxicity in overdose. Unlicensed antidepressant prescribing is associated with a wide range of diagnoses, and while accepted practice, is often not supported by safety and efficacy studies. New strategies to implement current guidance for the management of depression in CYP are required.
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