ArticleBJGP open2025
Patterns and indications for quetiapine prescribing in Dutch primary care: a retrospective database study.
Article in BJGP open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Mental Health and Serious Drug Crime: A Case-Control Study.Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH · 2026Article
- Twenty-Year Trends in Antipsychotic Utilization in Serbia: A Nationwide Drug Utilization Study.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Patterns of psychotropic drug dispensation in Portugal amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Cardiovascular risk management in patients using antipsychotics: a qualitative feasibility study.BJGP open · 2026Article
- Trends in antipsychotic and lithium use in Scandinavian countries from 2010 to 2023: a cross-country drug utilization study.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundQuetiapine, an antipsychotic, is registered for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and as an add-on therapy for major depressive disorder. Its anxiolytic and sedative effects make it attractive for off-label uses like insomnia, despite cardiovascular and metabolic side effects. The global increase in quetiapine use over the past decade warrants an examination of its prescribing patterns, especially off-label.
aimThis study investigated quetiapine prescribing trends in Dutch primary care, with a focus on off-label use. DESIGN &
settingA retrospective database study using national and regional prescribing data from the Netherlands.
methodNational prescribing trends from 2003-2022 were analysed using data from the Drug Information Project database, focusing on the top 10 antipsychotics. Regional data from the Radboud University Medical Centre (UMC) Technology Centre Health Database provided detailed quetiapine prescribing patterns from 2012-2021, categorised by daily dose. Indications for quetiapine prescriptions from 2020-2022 were derived from the detailed Radboud UMC Technology Centre patient records, including free-text portions, with specific attention for use in sleep problems.
resultsAntipsychotic use increased from 1510 to 2061 per 100 000 population from 2003-2022, largely due to a 13-fold increase in quetiapine (66 to 870 per 100 000 population). Detailed regional data revealed a 3.3-fold increase in quetiapine use from 2012-2021, particularly at doses <100 mg/day. Among new quetiapine users in 2020-2022 from a subset of practices, 76.6% were for off-label indications, and sleep problems were the primary reason for starting quetiapine in 46.9% of cases.
conclusionOff-label quetiapine prescribing, particulary for sleep problems, is rising in the Netherlands, despite guideline warnings. Further research on the drivers and long-term effects of this practice is needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.