ABSTRACT
Objective: To assess the pattern of sales of Psychotropic drugsin India over a period of thirty-six months. Methods: Psychotropic sales by rupees and units over a thirty-six month period were analysed in relation to estimated patient population and population taking treatment. Results: There was an increase in per capita sales over the years. Even though there was a progressive increase in sale amount in all drugs, unit-wise there was a continuous decline in Antipsychotics (AP) and Anxiolytics (AA) in final year. Conventional AP though declining, have substantial share in sales. Similarly older AD accounted for substantial sales. Limitations: Lack of different strengths of various drugs in unitshindered a finer and meaningful analysis. Conclusions: There was a mismatch between need and use of Psychotropic drugs Recommended: Analysis of individual drugs unit-wise to get a view of pattern of use in different parts of the country.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Suicide rates are computed on the basis of whole population without taking into consideration the cognitive capacity of children to appreciate death. This study was undertaken to find out the variability in suicide rate if children of various ages are excluded from computation of suicide rate Method: Suicide rates were computed taking the at risk population of India-above 6 yrs, 7 yrs, 8 yrs, and 9 yrs for the period 1991-2013, suicide data from the National Crimes Bureau statistics on Accidental Deaths and Suicides of Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India. The data was analyzed for percentage increase for various ages. Results: Depending upon the cut-off age the rate increase over a twenty-three year period was from 11.2 to 14.6 and the percent increase was 16.1-33.7. Conclusion: A standardized definition of suicide and a thorough debate on child’s concept of death and ability to decide to decide on death across various cultures and regions is needed to understand the enormity of suicide.