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Factors associated with discontinuation of antidepressant treatment after a single prescription among patients aged 55 or over: evidence from English primary care

Falcaro, M; Ben-Shlomo, Y; King, M; Freemantle, N; Walters, K; (2019) Factors associated with discontinuation of antidepressant treatment after a single prescription among patients aged 55 or over: evidence from English primary care. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology , 54 pp. 1545-1553. 10.1007/s00127-019-01678-x. Green open access

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Abstract

Purpose: Antidepressants are frequently prescribed to older people with depression but little is known on predictors of discontinuation in this population. We therefore investigated factors associated with early discontinuation of antidepressants in older adults with new diagnoses or symptoms of depression in English primary care. / Methods: Data from a nationally representative cohort of patients aged 55 and over were used to evaluate the association between discontinuation of antidepressant medication after a single prescription and potential explanatory variables, including socio-demographic factors, polypharmacy and agerelated problems such as dementia. / Results: Overall, during the study period we observed 34,715 new courses of antidepressant treatment initiated after recorded symptoms or diagnoses of depression. Antidepressant discontinuation after a single prescription was more common in people with depressive symptoms (32%) than in those with diagnosed depression (21.6%). In those diagnosed with depression and in women with depressive symptoms we found that, after adjusting for confounders, the odds of early discontinuation significantly increased after age 65 with a peak at around age 80 and then either levelled or reduced thereafter. Early discontinuation was also significantly less common in people with dementia and in those with diagnosed depression living in more rural areas. / Conclusions: Early discontinuation of antidepressants increases in the post retirement years and is higher in those with no formal diagnosis of depression, those without dementia and those with diagnosed depression living in urban areas. Alternative treatment strategies, such as non-drug therapies, or more active patient follow-up should be further considered in these circumstances.

Type: Article
Title: Factors associated with discontinuation of antidepressant treatment after a single prescription among patients aged 55 or over: evidence from English primary care
Location: Germany
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1007/s00127-019-01678-x
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-019-01678-x
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: antidepressants, depression, early discontinuation, electronic health records, primary care.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Inst of Clinical Trials and Methodology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Inst of Clinical Trials and Methodology > Comprehensive CTU at UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Primary Care and Population Health
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10073651
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