title: [Changes in prescription patterns to patients with bipolar syndromes. Increased use of lamotrigine and decreased use of lithium].
abstract: Lithium is a first line option in the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder, but several alternative treatment regimens have been introduced in recent years, among them treatment with antiepileptic compounds and atypical antipsychotic drugs. Little is known about if and how this has changed the prescription patterns of mood stabilizers. We analysed trends in prescription of mood stabilisers in Sweden using the national quality register for bipolar disorder (BipoläR), the Prescribed Drug Register, and the Patient Register during the years 2007-2011. We found that lithium use decreased while lamotrigine use increased in bipolar patients. These changes could not be ex-plained by differences in bipolar subtypes; lithium use decreased in both bipolar type I and type II, and the use of lamotrigine increased in bipolar type II. Lithium use was more common in men, whereas lamotrigine use was more common in women. The prescription of other mood stabilisers did not change during these years.
authors.affiliation: Institutionen för neurovetenskap och fysiologi, Göteborgs universitet - Sektionen för psykiatri och neurokemi Göteborg, Sweden Neuroscience and Physiology - Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, University of Gothenburg Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Alina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karanti
authors.affiliation: BipoläR- Nationella kvalitetsregistret för bipolär affektiv sjukdom - Göteborgs universitet Göteborg, Sweden National Quality Register for bipolar disorder BipoläR - University of Gothenburg Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kardell
authors.affiliation: BipoläR- Nationella kvalitetsregistret för bipolär affektiv sjukdom - Göteborgs universitet Göteborg, Sweden - Borås, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ulrika
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Lundberg
authors.affiliation: Institutionen för neurovetenskap och fysiologi, Göteborgs universitet - Sektionen för psykiatri och neurokemi Göteborg, Sweden Institutionen för neurovetenskap och fysiologi, Göteborgs universitet - Sektionen för psykiatri och neurokemi Göteborg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Landén
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000077213:Lamotrigine; D008094:Lithium / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012042:Registries; D012737:Sex Factors; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014227:Triazines / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D014227:Triazines; D008094:Lithium; D000077213:Lamotrigine