Increased antidepressant use during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, Italy, 2015-2020.
Psychiatry Res
; 315: 114704, 2022 09.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1914934
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Few studies investigated the impact of the pandemic on antidepressant (AD) use.METHODS:
The Social and Health Information System of Friuli Venezia Giulia region, Italy, provided data on AD use. Sex, age, AD class and month used the amount of AD prescriptions, measured by defined daily doses (DDD) per 1000 inhabitants per day, to compare AD use in 2020 with the period 2015-2019. A linear trend model predicted AD use for 2020, based on years 2015-2019.RESULTS:
AD use was on average 20% higher in each month of 2020 when compared with the same month for the period 2015-2019, with an increase of more than 30% in the first four and in the last two months of 2020. The observed AD use in 2020 was higher than predicted, particularly in men, and in the 30-59 years age group.LIMITATIONS:
Descriptive study of AD use without analysis of data at the individual level. No information on psychiatric diagnoses of AD users.CONCLUSION:
AD use was higher in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further research is warranted to understand if this may be related to a rise in mental disorders in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
/
Mental Disorders
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Psychiatry Res
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.psychres.2022.114704
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