title: Antidepressant treatment in general practice--an interview study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To elucidate potential problems concerning the use of antidepressants (AD) in general practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional, descriptive interview study.
  
  
  METHODS
  General practices, Odense, Denmark.
  
  
  METHODS
  Random sample consisting of 98 AD users from 12 general practices.
  
  
  METHODS
  Indication for AD treatment, justification of the treatment, duration of AD treatment, daily dose of AD, side effects, Hamilton depression rating, WONCA score.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The primary indication for AD treatment was depression (72 patients), partly regular depression (therapeutic/prophylactic treatment) (n = 39), partly depressive tendencies (n = 32) (1 unknown). Median treatment duration was 3 years; 25% had been in treatment for more than 10 years. The general practitioners judged the treatment problematic/unacceptable in 23 cases, largely because of uncertain indication or because other or no treatment was considered better for the patient. The daily doses of AD were generally low. Side effects were modest. The patients often had a relatively high depression score and poor status according to the WONCA-scale.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of low doses, long duration of treatment, and uncertainty about the relevance of the treatment are important features of the use of AD by general practitioners. There seems to be a discrepancy between the use of AD in general practice and the scientifically-based recommendations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Odense University, Denmark.
authors.forename: J U
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Rosholm
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Gram
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Damsbo
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hallas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003718:Denmark; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000592:standards; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents