ArticleBJPsych open2026
Antipsychotic prescribing trends in England: role of regional disparities, health inequalities and ethnic density.
Article in BJPsych open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAntipsychotics are essential for managing certain mental disorders; however, little is known about regional disparities in their prescribing or how these patterns are shaped by ethnic density and health inequalities.
aimsTo analyse national, regional and local integrated care board trends in antipsychotic prescribing in England from April 2019 to March 2025, and to explore their associations with health inequalities and ethnic density.
methodA population-level observational study was conducted using the English primary care prescription data from OpenPrescribing. Linear regression was used to assess trends in first-generation (FGA), second-generation (SGA) and total antipsychotic prescribing. Generalised additive models examined associations between prescription rates and health inequalities and ethnic density at the local level.
resultsAntipsychotic prescribing increased from 185.55 to 199.85 prescriptions per 1000 population between April 2019 and March 2025. SGA use increased significantly (168.48 to 186.27) whereas FGA use declined (17.08 to 13.58). Regional annual increases ranged from 3.85% (95% CI = 3.53%, 4.16%) in London to -0.21% (95% CI = -0.72%, 0.31%) in the South-West region, with greater variation at the local level, from 6.62% (95% CI = 5.71%, 7.53%) in North Central London to -2.05% (95% CI = -2.71%, -1.40%) in Shropshire, Telford and the Wrekin. Higher Pakistani ethnic density was associated with lower prescribing rates, whereas greater health inequalities were linked to increased prescribing.
conclusionsAntipsychotic prescribing patterns have shifted in recent years, with notable regional disparities influenced by health inequalities and ethnic composition. Targeted interventions are needed to promote equitable access and address prescribing disparities in mental healthcare.
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.