Citalopram treats major depression in the elderly, with fewer side effects than amitriptyline

Abstract

pattern and duration of antidepressant use. Multiple regression analysis of data from a large prescription and medical claims database (MarketScan®) for the years 1993 and 1994 were used to estimate the determinants of antidepressant drug use patterns for 1,034 patients with a "new" episode of antidepressant therapy who were prescribed one of three most often prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) paroxetine, sertraline, or fluoxetine.The results indicated that patients initiating therapy on sertraline or paroxetine were less likely than patients initiating therapy on fluoxetine to have at least four prescriptions of their initial antidepressant within the first six months. The findings suggest that antidepressant selection is an important determinant of antidepressant use patterns consistent with current recommended depression treatment guidelines.