title: Use and misuse of antidepressant drugs in a random sample of the population of Rome, Italy.
abstract: Prescribing patterns of antidepressant drugs were studied, over a period of 30 months, in a random sample of 8743 residents of the area of Rome, Italy. Data from the regional outpatient drug monitoring system were used. The proportion of subjects receiving, during the study period, at least one prescription of antidepressant drugs, was 5.4%; the female-to-male ratio was 2.1. Consumption prevalence increased with age. The single most prescribed drug was fluoxetine followed by amitriptyline and ademetionine. For a surprisingly high proportion of subjects, the observed length of treatment was shorter than expected on the basis of current knowledge in clinical pharmacology. Inappropriate diagnostic and therapeutic procedures are likely explanations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, National Health Institute, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arpino
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Da Cas
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Donini
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pasquini
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raschetti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Traversa
mesh_terms: D000639:Amitriptyline / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006300:Health Services Misuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012384:Rome / Q000453:epidemiology; D012436:S-Adenosylmethionine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012494:Sampling Studies; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D005473:Fluoxetine; D000639:Amitriptyline; D012436:S-Adenosylmethionine