Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27885400›Full record

ArticleSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2017

Influences on antidepressant prescribing trends in the UK: 1995-2011.

Becky Mars, Jon Heron, David Kessler, Neil M Davies, Richard M Martin, Kyla H Thomas, David Gunnell

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In one paragraph

Article in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 76 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
76citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

76 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  7. Management of treatment-resistant depression in primary care: a mixed-methods study.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2018
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16 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Becky MarsCentre for Academic Mental Health, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK. becky.mars@bristol.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0002-8132-6920
Jon HeronCentre for Academic Mental Health, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK.
David KesslerCentre for Academic Mental Health, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK.
Neil M DaviesCentre for Academic Mental Health, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK.
Richard M MartinCentre for Academic Mental Health, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK.
Kyla H ThomasCentre for Academic Mental Health, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK.
David GunnellCentre for Academic Mental Health, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK.

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_UU_12013/1Medical Research Council MC_UU_12013/9
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe number of antidepressants prescribed in the UK has been increasing over the last 25 years; however, the reasons for this are not clear. This study examined trends in antidepressant prescribing in the UK between 1995 and 2011 according to age, sex, and drug class, and investigated reasons for the increase in prescribing over this period.

methodsThis is a retrospective analysis of antidepressant prescribing data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink: a large, anonymised, primary care database in the UK. The dataset used in this study included 138 practices, at which a total of 1,524,201 eligible patients were registered across the 17-year period. The proportion of patients who received at least one antidepressant prescription and the number of patients who started a course of antidepressants were calculated for each year of the study. We used person years (PY) at risk as the denominator. The duration of treatment for those starting antidepressants was also examined.

results23% of patients were prescribed an antidepressant on at least one occasion over the 17-year study period. Antidepressant prescriptions rose from 61.9 per 1000 PY in 1995 to 129.9 per 1000 PY in 2011. This was largely driven by an increase in prescribing of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and 'other' antidepressants. In contrast, incidence rates of those starting antidepressants remained relatively stable (1995: 21.3 per 1000 PY; 2011: 17.9 per 1000 PY). The duration of treatment increased with later starting years, with an increasing proportion of long-term use, and decrease in short-term use.

conclusionThe increase in antidepressant prescribing over the study period appears to be driven by an increase in long-term use of these medications.

Indexed as

Antidepressive AgentsDrug PrescriptionsHumansPrimary Health CareRetrospective StudiesUnited KingdomAntidepressive AgentsAntidepressantsGeneral practicePrescribingPrimary careTrends

Identifiers

PMID27885400
PMCPMC5329088

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