title: Patterns and frequency of atypical antipsychotic prescribing in psychiatric medical centers: a cross-sectional national survey.
abstract: Studies describing atypical antipsychotics when compared with conventional antipsychotic drugs are few in France. This study aimed to describe the frequency and characteristics of atypical antipsychotic prescribing. A cross-sectional national survey was conducted from February to June 2003 in a random sample of 100 volunteer French psychiatrists practicing in public psychiatric medical centers. Each psychiatrist was asked to complete a questionnaire for patients to whom at least one antipsychotic was prescribed during the period of the survey. The characteristics of the patients treated with atypical antipsychotics were identified with a logistic regression model. A total of 1733 patients were included in the study. The main diagnoses were schizophrenia (46.1%) and other psychoses (40.8%), followed by mood disorders (10%) and other psychiatric disorders (2.5%). Among these patients, 56% had at least one prescription of an atypical antipsychotic, 42.1% at least one conventional antipsychotic with immediate action and 29.9% at least one conventional antipsychotic with delayed action. Seventy percent of patients were treated with single-drug atypical antipsychotics. Compared with conventional antipsychotics with immediate action, atypical antipsychotics were less likely to be prescribed to patients over 35 years of age [odds ratio (OR) 0.4; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.3-0.6], with duration of illness >10 years (OR 0.5; 95% CI 0.3-0.7), and were less likely to be used with concomitant corrector agents for neurological side effects (OR 0.4; 95% CI 0.3-0.6). This study shows the important use of atypical antipsychotic drugs especially in schizophrenic patients and younger patients.
authors.affiliation: Université Victor Segalen, Pharmacology Department, 33076 Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Thierno
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Diatta
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blazejewski
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Portier
authors.forename: Séverine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lignot
authors.forename: Ariane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Quesnot
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fourrier-Réglat
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003155:Community Mental Health Centers; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents