title: Do practitioners managing mood disorders work to a sub-typing or a 'one size fits all' model?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether psychiatrists in the community operate to a sub-typing model of mood disorders when choosing psychotropic medications.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients assessed through the Black Dog Institute depression clinic provided information on their previously prescribed and current medications, on how effective they found them and whether they had to be ceased due to side-effects. The prevalence of each medication trialled was analysed according to diagnosis (bipolar I, bipolar II, unipolar melancholic depression or unipolar non-melancholic depression).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analyses indicate that psychiatrists prescribe medications differentially in line with diagnosis. This effect was found in both previously prescribed and currently prescribed medications, and was most distinct for mood stabiliser and antipsychotic medications. Several medications, in contrast, appeared to have been trialled by the majority of patients, regardless of diagnosis. Analyses of effectiveness and cessation due to side-effects were compromised by small sub-sample sizes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Psychiatrists in the community appear to operate to a sub-typing model of mood disorders, preferentially prescribing many medications according to mood disorder sub-type.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW, Australia. g.parker@unsw.edu.au
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: Amelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paterson
authors.forename: Stacey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McCraw
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Friend
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D018759:Adrenergic Uptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018692:Antimanic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008960:Models, Psychological; D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000379:methods*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D018759:Adrenergic Uptake Inhibitors; D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D018692:Antimanic Agents; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors