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Antidepressant medication prescribing patterns in Irish general practice from 2016 to 2020 to assess for long-term use

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Abstract

Background/aims

The aim of this study was to identify the trends in antidepressant (AD) medication use in two Irish general practices over a 5-year period, 2016 to 2020. The rationale for this study is attributed to the growing prevalence of depression amongst the Irish general public as well as concerns surrounding long-term AD medication use.

Methods

The research was undertaken in 2021 examining AD prescription rates from 2016 to 2020. The medications of interest were selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SSRI and SNRIs): sertraline, escitalopram, fluoxetine and venlafaxine. The number of medical card holders (MCH) and prescription dispensing rates were analysed for observable trends.

Results

AD medication use is rising amongst the Irish MCH population. The number of MCH prescribed AD grew from 9.42 to 12.3 per 100 MCH between the years 2016 and 2020, respectively. The year 2020 represented the largest proportion of MCH prescriptions, 6.32 AD prescriptions per 1000 MCH prescriptions. The years 2019 to 2020 represented the largest annual increase in prescription dispensing with a growth of 0.45 per 1000 MCH prescriptions. Annual figures show a continual increase in AD dispensing refill rates from 4.14 to 5.67 per 1000 MCH prescriptions in 2016 and 2020, respectively.

Conclusion

This study illustrates a steady rise in AD medication within the general practice setting, with an observed rise in prescription dispensing rates. The high proportion of refill prescriptions demonstrates the long-term use of AD medications. This may be indicative of chronic depression or may highlight a lack of appropriate medication cessation strategies.

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Data availability

Data is available by reasonable request from the authors.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank our research supervisor, Dervla Kelly, and Prof. Deirdre McGrath, head of School of Medicine, University of Limerick. In addition, we would like to extend our thanks to Dr. Sean Montague, Dr. Andrew Lavin, and Dr. Jerry O’Flynn for supporting the research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Limerick School of Medicine, Limerick, Ireland

    Aoibhin McCool & Kurt Lukas

  2. Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

    Peter Hayes & Dervla Kelly

Authors
  1. Aoibhin McCool
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  2. Kurt Lukas
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  3. Peter Hayes
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  4. Dervla Kelly
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Contributions

The idea for this study was proposed by AM. All authors contributed to the development of the concept and design. Data collection: KL and AM. The introduction was written by KL and AM. Methodology: AM, KL and DK. Results: KL and AM. Discussion: AM and KL. Limitations: AM. Tables and figures were created and edited by KL and AM. Original draft preparation: AM and KL. Writing—review and editing: PH, DK, AM and KL. Supervision: DK. All authors commented on the previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read, commented, and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Aoibhin McCool.

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Education and Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee, University of Limerick, 2021_04_10_EHS.

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The authors declare no competing interest.

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McCool, A., Lukas, K., Hayes, P. et al. Antidepressant medication prescribing patterns in Irish general practice from 2016 to 2020 to assess for long-term use. Ir J Med Sci 191, 2239–2246 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-021-02833-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-021-02833-7

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