Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychotropic drug consumption

Abstract

ImportanceAlthough the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on mental health, there is no comprehensive longitudinal study of the entire population of a country without selection bias.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to evaluate the prescription of psychotropic drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic, using data from the French national health data system (SNDS).Design, settings, and participantsPrescriptions for psychotropic drugs (antidepressants, anxiolytics, hypnotics, and antipsychotics) from 1 January 2015 to 30 September 2021 were collected from administrative data provided by the SNDS. This database includes more than 99% of the French population, i.e., 67 million people. The data were analyzed using an interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) model.Main outcomes and measuresConsumption of psychotropic drugs was aggregated in months and expressed in number of boxes per thousand inhabitants.ResultsDuring the study period, more than 1.3 billion boxes of psychotropic medications were dispensed. Comparison of psychotropic drug dispensing before and after the pandemic showed a relative increase of 0.76 (95 CI 0.57 to 0.95, p<0.001) boxes per month per thousand inhabitants, all classes of psychotropic drugs combined. Three classes saw their consumption increase in an almost similar proportion, respectively, by 0.23 (0.15 to 0.32, p<0.001) boxes for antidepressants, 0.27 (0.20 to 0.34, p<0.001) boxes for anxiolytics and 0.23 (0.17 to 0.30, p<0.001) boxes for hypnotics. The change in antipsychotic consumption was very small, with an increase of 0.04 boxes (0.02 to 0.06, p = 0.001) per month per thousand population.Conclusion and relevanceThe COVID-19 pandemic had led to an increase in the consumption of psychotropic drugs, confirming the significant impact of the pandemic on the mental health of the general population.

Application of Data Mining in Pharmaceutical Research

“…Recent studies in several countries around the world are unanimous in showing a significant increase in the consumption of psychotropic drugs during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies from Canada (Ying et al, 2023), France (Benistand et al, 2022;Sanchez et al, 2022), Portugal (Estrela et al, 2022), Scandinavia (Tiger et al, 2023), United States (Amill-Rosario et al, 2022), Danish (Bliddal et al, 2023) showed that the effects of the pandemic were not restricted to the infectivity and pathogenicity of the virus at the level of the respiratory system, but also left important psychological sequelae with increased used of psychotropic medications.…”

Patient demographics and psychotropic medication prescribing in Australian general practices: pre- and during COVID-19 pandemic

“…24,25 First time prescribing rates also increased during the initial year of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is consistent with a study that investigated antidepressant use during year one (2020) of the pandemic and reported an increased use at a greater rate than past decades in Australia, 26 and another study from France indicating an increased use of psychotropic medications during the COVID-19 pandemic. 8 However, there were decreasing filling of hypnotics and antidepressant prescriptions in the USA in the early weeks of COVID-19. 27 Similarly, a study in Canada indicated a decrease in new prescriptions for antidepressants and anxiolytics in the 3 months after COVID-19 restrictions were implemented, but an increase in the new use of antidepressants and antipsychotics at the end of 2020 was observed.…”

“…7 A study from France on psychotropic drug consumption also showed that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant rise in psychotropic drug use, especially in antidepressants, anxiolytics, and hypnotics. 8 Examining psychotropic medication prescribing patterns and understanding its relation with demographic factors are crucial steps in understanding mental health care needs. 9 The study could provide valuable insights into demographic disparities on psychotropic medication prescribing patterns in Australian general practice, pre-and during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Sales trends of psychotropic drugs in the COVID-19 pandemic: A national database study in Brazil

“…Recent studies in several countries around the world are unanimous in showing a significant increase in the consumption of psychotropic drugs during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies from Canada (Ying et al, 2023), France (Benistand et al, 2022;Sanchez et al, 2022), Portugal (Estrela et al, 2022), Scandinavia (Tiger et al, 2023), United States (Amill-Rosario et al, 2022), Danish (Bliddal et al, 2023) showed that the effects of the pandemic were not restricted to the infectivity and pathogenicity of the virus at the level of the respiratory system, but also left important psychological sequelae with increased used of psychotropic medications.…”