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.
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.
Uchida
Naoki
N
Fukuoka University College of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan. naoki.uchida.fukuoka@jcom.home.ne.jp
Chong
Mian-Yoon
MY
Tan
Chay Hoon
CH
Nagai
Hiroshi
H
Tanaka
Mariko
M
Lee
Min-Soo
MS
Fujii
Senta
S
Yang
Shu-Yu
SY
Si
Tainmei
T
Sim
Kang
K
Wei
Hao
H
Ling
He Yan
HY
Nishimura
Ryoji
R
Kawaguchi
Yoshichika
Y
Edwards
Glen
G
Sartorius
Norman
N
Shinfuku
Naotaka
N
D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002681:China; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012846:Singapore; D013624:Taiwan; D014944:World Health Organization
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors