Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28587610›Full record

ArticleBMC psychiatry2017

Trends in GP prescribing of psychotropic medications among young patients aged 16-24 years: a case study analysis.

Bianca Brijnath, Ting Xia, Lyle Turner, Danielle Mazza

Abstract readEvaluation Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMC psychiatry, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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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

4 authors.

Bianca BrijnathSchool of Occupational Therapy and Social Work, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Building 401, Bentley Campus, Perth, 6152, Australia. bianca.brijnath@curtin.edu.au.ORCID 0000-0002-0536-6859
Ting XiaDepartment of General Practice, School of Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
Lyle TurnerDepartment of General Practice, School of Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
Danielle MazzaDepartment of General Practice, School of Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCurrent clinical guidelines recommend non-pharmacological interventions as first-line treatments for young patients aged 16-24 years with a mental health condition (MHC). However, several studies have noted increasing trends in psychotropic prescribing for this age group, especially in antidepressant prescribing. In Australia, the vast majority of psychotropic medications prescribed to young people come from the general practice setting. To assess whether Australian General Practitioners (GPs) are prescribing in accordance with clinical guideline recommendations, this study examined trends in GP prescribing of psychotropic medications to young patients aged 16-24 years.

methodsWe performed a retrospective analysis of routine general practice data from 9112 patients aged 16-24 years with a MHC. Data were extracted from the Melbourne East Monash General Practice Database from 1/01/2009 to 31/12/2014. The main outcome measures included the number of consultations for patients with MHCs, psychotropic prescribing by GPs, and patient characteristics associated with the likelihood of being prescribed a psychotropic.

resultsIn total, 9112 out of a total of 77,466 young patients were identified as having a MHC in this study, and 11,934 psychotropic prescriptions were provided to 3967 (43.5%) of them over the study period. Antidepressants accounted for 81.4% of total psychotropic prescriptions, followed by anxiolytics (9.6%) and antipsychotics (9.0%). The number of prescriptions issued to individuals with MHCs increased over time. Women and patients aged 21-24 years had higher incidence rates for prescription than men and those aged 16-17 (IRR: 1.15, 95% CI 1.08-1.22, IRR: 1.93, 95% CI 1.750-2.11).

conclusionsOur findings demonstrate an increasing trend in GP prescribing of psychotropics to young people over the study period with higher levels of prescribing to women and those 21-24 years of age. Although GP prescribing corresponded with guideline recommendations on the whole, there were discrepancies between GP's antidepressant prescribing and guideline recommendations, reasons for which were unclear. Research is needed to investigate GPs decision-making processes underlying their prescribing, to target interventions to improve existing data in GP records to improve management, and to identify areas of further training if needed to facilitate greater concordance between clinical practice and guideline recommendations.

Indexed as

AdolescentAntidepressive AgentsAustraliaDatabases, FactualDrug PrescriptionsFemaleGeneral PracticeHumansMaleMental DisordersPractice Patterns, Physicians'Psychotropic DrugsReferral and ConsultationRetrospective StudiesYoung AdultAntidepressive AgentsPsychotropic DrugsAustraliaGeneral practitioners (GPs)Mental healthPrescribingPsychotropicYouth

Identifiers

PMID28587610
PMCPMC5461626

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.