title: International study on antidepressant prescription pattern at 40 major psychiatric institutions and hospitals in Asia: A 10-year comparison study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Research in prescription pattern of antidepressants in Asia is lacking. This study aims to compare the antidepressants prescription pattern in Asia in 2003-2004 and 2013.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Research in East Asia Psychotropic Prescription Pattern on Antidepressants (REAP-AD) had worked collaboratively in 2003-2004 (REAP-AD 2003/2004) and 2013 (REAP-AD 2013) to study the prescription pattern of antidepressants in Asia. The REAP-AD 2013 study was conducted in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand using a unified research protocol and questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty psychiatric centers participated in REAP-AD 2013 and a total of 2,319 patients receive antidepressants were analyzed. In 2013, 39.6% of the antidepressant prescriptions were for diagnoses other thandepressive disorder compared with 38.4% in REAP-AD 2003/2004. Out of all the antidepressants listed in the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification index by the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Drug Statistics Methodology (Oslo), only 38% antidepressants were prescribed in participating centers in 2013 compared with 46% in REAP-AD 2003/2004. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were the most common antidepressant prescribed in the participating centers, which was similar to the 2003-2004 survey. Prescription of newer generation antidepressants had increased in 2013 survey; on the contrary, prescription of tricyclic antidepressants had reduced.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study has contributed significantly in relation to the changing patterns of antidepressant use in all the participating Asian centers in the last 10 years. The findings are important in shaping optimal antidepressant prescription and future policy making.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry & Mental Health, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Kok-Yoon
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Chee
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, King George's Medical University, Chowk, Lucknow, India.
authors.forename: Adarsh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tripathi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Ajit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Avasthi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital-Kaohsiung Medical Center and School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, China.
authors.forename: Mian-Yoon
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mental Health, Buangkok View, Buangkok Green Medical Park Singapore, Taipei, Taiwan, China.
authors.forename: Kang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sim
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, China.
authors.forename: Shu-Yu
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Sandeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Glover
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Tao
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Tian-Mei
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Si
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigenobu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanba
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatric Epidemiology, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Ling
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Min-Soo
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Helen Fung-Kum
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Hironori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuga
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore.
authors.forename: Rathi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mahendran
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, Thailand.
authors.forename: Pichet
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Udormatn
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Pushpagiri Medical College, Thiruvalla, India.
authors.forename: Roy A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Kallivayalil
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hasanuddin University Faculty of Medicine, Makassar, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Andi J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Tanra
authors.affiliation: Dr. Soetomo Hospital - Faculty of Medicine, Airlangga University, Jawa Timur, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Margarita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maramis
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan.
authors.forename: Naotaka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shinfuku
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, TMU-Wan Fang Medical Center, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Winston W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Chay-Hoon
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Association for the Improvement of Mental Health Programmes, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Norman
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sartorius
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002681:China; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007214:Indonesia; D007564:Japan; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D056910:Republic of Korea; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012846:Singapore; D013624:Taiwan; D013785:Thailand; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
keywords: Asia; antidepressant; prescription pattern