Psychotropic drug and polypharmacy use among adolescents and young adults: findings from the Finnish 1981 Nationwide Birth Cohort Study.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about the timing of the start of psychotropic drug use and psychotropic polypharmacy use.


OBJECTIVE
This study describes these patterns in a Finnish representative cohort aged between 12 and 25.


METHODS
5525 subjects born in 1981 were followed up between 1994 and 2005 using the Finnish National Prescription Register.


RESULTS
Survival analysis revealed that the cumulative incidence of any psychotropic drug use was 1.3% by age 15, 6.1% by age 20 and 15.2% by age 25. Antidepressants and benzodiazepines were the most used drug groups, with cumulative incidences of 12.2% and 5.2%, respectively, by age 25. The cumulative incidence of polypharmacy was 0.02% by age 15, 0.9% by age 20 and 4.1% by age 25, i.e. having purchased at least two psychotropic drugs from different classes during the same day. Polypharmacy occurred among the majority of antipsychotic and benzodiazepine users, but among a minority of antidepressant users. More females than males had used any psychotropic drug, antidepressants, the antidepressant-benzodiazepine combination and the antidepressant-mood stabilizer combination.


CONCLUSIONS
Both general psychotropic drug use and psychotropic polypharmacy use was often started in late adolescence.
Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. gyllenberg@helsinki.fi
David
D
Gyllenberg
Andre
A
Sourander
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019338:Polypharmacy; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; D001569:Benzodiazepines