Did psychotropic drug consumption increase during the 2008 financial crisis? A cross-sectional population-based study in Spain

Abstract

Objectives and settingAlthough psychotropic drugs are used to treat mental health disorders, little evidence analyses the effects the 2008 economic downturn had on psychotropic drug consumption in the case of Spain. We analyse these effects, considering both gender and employment situation.ParticipantsWe used the microdata from the face-to-face cross-sectional population-based Spanish National Health Survey for two periods: 2006–2007 (n=28 954) and 2011–2012 (n=20 509). Our samples included adults (>15 years old).MethodsThe response variables are consumption (or not) of antidepressants or sedatives and the explanatory variables are the year of the survey, gender and employment status. Covariates are mental health problems, mental health index General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and self-reported health outcome variables such as self-rated health, chronic diseases, smoking behaviour, sleeping hours, body mass index, physical activity in the workplace, medical visits during the past year, age, region of residence (autonomous communities), educational level, marital status and social class of the reference person. Finally, we include interactions between time period, gender and employment status. We specify random effects logistic regressions and use Bayesian methods for the inference.ResultsThe economic crisis did not significantly change the probability of taking antidepressant drugs (OR=0.56, 95% CI 0.18 to 2.56) nor sedatives (OR=1.21, 95% CI 0.26 to 5.49). In general, the probability of consuming antidepressants among men and women decreases, but there are differences depending on employment status. The probability of consuming sedatives also depends on the employment status.ConclusionsWhile the year of the financial crisis is not associated with the consumption of antidepressants nor sedatives, it has widened the gap in consumption differences between men and women. Although antidepressant use dropped, the difference in consumption levels between men and women grew significantly among the retired, and in the case of sedatives, risk of women taking sedatives increased in all groups except students.

Mental Health among Spanish Adults with Diabetes: Findings from a Population-Based Case–Controlled Study

“…However, our study has several limitations that are common to interview-based health surveys and have been previously reported [ 20 , 40 , 42 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]. First of all, not all the self-reported chronic conditions collected by the SNHIS have been validated against clinical records.…”

“…This variable also provides information on the access to the healthcare system as we can use this variable to identify whether adults with mental disorders are being undertreated. iv) Several other investigations conducted in Spain have analyzed mental health using these three conditions separately, and we can therefore make direct comparisons [ 20 , 51 , 52 , 53 ].…”

How did the use of psychotropic drugs change during the Great Recession in Portugal? A follow-up to the National Mental Health Survey

“…Most findings suggest that during recessions prescriptions for psychotropic drugs rise [16][17][18][19], including those to treat depressive and anxiety disorders [18,[20][21][22][23]. Some studies didn't find this association [24,25], but found a widening of consumption differences according to gender and age [25].…”

The 2008 Financial Crisis and Changes in Lifestyle-Related Behaviors in Italy, Greece, Spain, and Portugal: A Systematic Review

“…This general increasing trend was not homogeneously reported for all psychotropic drugs: specifically, Marquez Calderon et al [27] found an increase in sedative, tranquilizer, and hypnotic drugs, while antidepressant use decreased. According to Arroyo [15], only sedative use increased, and Madianos et al evaluated only antidepressant use, finding an increase in its use in Greece [26].…”