title: Divorce and subsequent increase in uptake of antidepressant medication: a Finnish registry-based study on couple versus individual effects.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is an average negative mental health effect for individuals who experience divorce. Little is known whether the pattern of such divorce effects varies within couples. We study whether the husband and wife experience similar harmful effects of divorce, whether they experience opposite effects, or whether divorce effects are purely individual.
  
  
  METHODS
  We use Finnish registry data to compare changes over a period of 5 years in antidepressant use of husbands and wives from 4,558 divorcing couples to 108,637 continuously married pairs aged 40-64, all of whom were healthy at baseline.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the period three years before and after divorce antidepressant use increases substantially. However, the likelihood of uptake of antidepressant medication during this process of divorce by one partner appears to be independent of medication uptake in the other partner. In contrast, among continuously married couples there is a clear pattern of convergence: If one partner starts to use antidepressants this increases the likelihood of uptake of antidepressant medication in the other partner.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that divorce effects on antidepressant use are individual and show no pattern of either convergence or divergence at the level of the couple. The increased incidence of antidepressant use associated with divorce occurs in individuals independent of what happens to their ex-partner.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Manor Road, OX1 3UQ, Oxford, United Kingdom. christiaan.monden@nuffield.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Christiaan W S
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Monden
authors.affiliation: Population Research Unit, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. niina.metsa-simola@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Niina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Metsä-Simola
authors.affiliation: Population Research Unit, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. saarioja@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Saska
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saarioja
authors.affiliation: Population Research Unit, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. pekka.martikainen@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Pekka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martikainen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004243:Divorce / Q000523:psychology*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D012042:Registries; D018454:Spouses
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents