ArticleBJPsych open2025
Fluctuations in dispensed out-patient psychotropic medication prescriptions during the COVID-19 pandemic in The Netherlands.
Article in BJPsych open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Utilization of mental health services during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic - a systematic review and meta-analysis.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2026Pooled it
- The Number of Newly Dispensed Hypnotic Drugs During the First COVID-19 Lockdown Period in The Netherlands.Journal of sleep research · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns had a significant impact on mental well-being and (mental) healthcare systems globally.
aimsTo describe trends and dynamics of out-patient prescribing of psychotropic medications during the COVID-19 pandemic in The Netherlands.
methodDispensed psychotropic medication prescriptions during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 to March 2022 were retrieved from national registry data. Numbers of total and incident dispensed prescriptions and defined daily doses (DDDs) were identified for six medication groups. Overall pandemic-related changes in prescribing trends were analysed using interrupted time-series analyses. Lockdown-related prescribing dynamics were described using monthly risk ratios.
resultsNo overall pandemic-related changes in prescribing were detected, except for alcohol addiction medication, for which a pre-pandemic decline in total dispensed prescriptions and DDDs levelled off during the pandemic: +10 prescriptions per week (95% CI 7-11,
conclusionsThese findings raise concerns regarding possible over- and under-prescribing during the pandemic. Further understanding of specific factors driving these changes is necessary to help prepare for future mental health(care) challenges.
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