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The Use of Antidepressants, Anxiolytics, Sedatives and Hypnotics in Europe: Focusing on Mental Health Care in Portugal and Prescribing in Older Patients.

ABSTRACT: (1) Background: Mental disorders are a growing concern in the 21st century. The most prevalent common mental disorders include depression and anxiety. It is predicted that half of the population will at some point in their lives experience one or more mental disorders. Although common mental disorders are highly prevalent, some of the most significant related problems are the wide treatment gap and the excessive use of antidepressants, anxiolytics and sedatives/hypnotics, especially among older patients. (2) Methods: This study aimed to analyze mental health care in Portugal, with a focus on the consumption of antidepressants, anxiolytics, sedatives and hypnotics among older patients. (3) Results: The use of antidepressants, anxiolytics, sedatives and hypnotics has increased overall across Europe. In Portugal, a downward trend of sedatives and hypnotics consumption can be observed. Anxiolytics and antidepressants, on the other hand, have been increasing. Patients aged ?60 years old consume more than half of the aforementioned drugs. (4) Conclusions: Mental health policies should be designed to improve the conscientious use of antidepressants, anxiolytics, sedatives and hypnotics, particularly among older adults.

SUBMITTER: Estrela M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7699589 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Use of Antidepressants, Anxiolytics, Sedatives and Hypnotics in Europe: Focusing on Mental Health Care in Portugal and Prescribing in Older Patients.

Estrela Marta M Herdeiro Maria Teresa MT Ferreira Pedro Lopes PL Roque Fátima F

International journal of environmental research and public health 20201119 22

(1) Background: Mental disorders are a growing concern in the 21st century. The most prevalent common mental disorders include depression and anxiety. It is predicted that half of the population will at some point in their lives experience one or more mental disorders. Although common mental disorders are highly prevalent, some of the most significant related problems are the wide treatment gap and the excessive use of antidepressants, anxiolytics and sedatives/hypnotics, especially among older ...[more]

PMID: 33228203

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Project description:BackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is often accompanied by psychiatric problems, such as depression and anxiety, affecting both treatment outcomes and mortality. Evidence for the number of COPD patients using medication for these disorders is sparse. In this study, chronic antidepressant (ATD) and anxiolytic (ANX) drug use - to identify depression and anxiety - among COPD patients was compared with subjects with or without other chronic diseases.MethodsThe NControl database containing prescription data of 800 pharmacies including 7 million individuals in The Netherlands was used. Patients of age 55+ years who received frequent prescriptions - at least two/year in 5 out of 6 years - for COPD medication, dermatological drugs, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), statins and oral glucose-lowering medication were analyzed for concomitant chronic use of ATDs and ANXs between 1 January 2013 and 1 January 2019. All other subjects aged 55+ years were included as a control group (control group 1). This group was further stratified into a group of subjects that received frequent prescriptions of any kind (control group 2).Results15.2% of the patients that receive COPD treatment (n = 96,319), 15.3% of subjects that are treated for dermatological problems (n = 62,865), 13.2% of subjects that receive DMARDs (n = 7900), 11.6% of statins users (n = 422,376) and 11.4% of oral glucose-lowering medication users (n = 165,975) are also chronically treated for depression or anxiety, compared with 2.6% (control group 1; n = 3,290,608) and 11.4% (control group 2; n = 757,947). In general, female and 75+ years aged subjects showed a higher risk for using ATDs and ANXs chronically. In the COPD and the dermatological patient group the risk was the highest compared with the other patient groups.ConclusionsThe rates of chronic ATD and ANX use and the risk of having depression and/or anxiety are especially high in COPD patients, indicating that psychiatric problems are more common in COPD than in most other chronic diseases. In general, age and gender strongly influence the risk of chronically using ATDs and ANXs.The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section.

Dataset Information

The Use of Antidepressants, Anxiolytics, Sedatives and Hypnotics in Europe: Focusing on Mental Health Care in Portugal and Prescribing in Older Patients.

Publications

The Use of Antidepressants, Anxiolytics, Sedatives and Hypnotics in Europe: Focusing on Mental Health Care in Portugal and Prescribing in Older Patients.

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