International study on antidepressant prescription pattern at 20 teaching hospitals and major psychiatric institutions in East Asia: Analysis of 1898 cases from China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to review the prescription patterns of antidepressants in different countries in East Asia. The survey was conducted in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan from October 2003 to March 2004 using the unified research protocol and questionnaire. Twenty teaching hospitals and major psychiatric hospitals participated and a total of 1898 patients receiving antidepressants were analyzed. The survey provided a number of interesting characteristics on the prescription patterns of antidepressant in East Asia. Out of 56 antidepressants listed in the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification (ATC) index by the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Drug Statistics Methodology (Oslo), only 26 antidepressants were prescribed in participating countries in East Asia. On average 38.4% of prescriptions of antidepressants were for patients with diagnoses other than depressive disorders. The availability and commonly prescribed antidepressants varied greatly by country. The selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI) and other newer antidepressants were prescribed in approximately 77.0% of all cases. At the time of the survey, only two SSRI medications were available in Japan. However, five types of SSRI were available and were often prescribed in Korea.

Utilization Pattern of Anti-Depressants at a Tertiary Hospital in Oman: A Retrospective Analysis

“…Depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and mixed anxiety and depressive disorders were the most common indications for antidepressant use, accounting for 40.8% of the total prescriptions. This finding is also similar to other studies conducted elsewhere [12][13][14][16][17][18]. Antidepressants were prescribed more in females than in males, a finding that is similar to what is observed in some Western countries [12][13][14].…”

Pattern of antidepressant prescription at tertiary (mental hospital vs medical college) care centre of central India

“…8 The finding of this study also similar with finding of other study from the West and multi-country study from East Asia. 5,11,12 However, the percentage of prescription of SSRIs in the present study is higher than that reported in these studies. In the present study Mirtazepine formed the 8% of the total antidepressant prescriptions.…”

International comparison of clinicians' ability to identify depression in primary care: meta-analysis and meta-regression of predictors

“…Many authors have commented on national differences in management of depression. 20,[78][79][80] In Europe and the US, 74% and 67% of those with mental illness, respectively, receive no adequate treatment. 21,24 In the European Study of Epidemiology of Mental Disorders project conducted in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, 24 6% of the sample was defined as being in need of mental health care but 48% of these participants reported no formal healthcare use.…”