title: Treatment of depression in patients with cardiovascular diseases by German psychiatrists.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the prevalence and the type of antidepressant medication prescribed by German psychiatrists to patients with depression and cardiovascular diseases (CVD).
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was a retrospective database analysis in Germany using the Disease Analyzer Database (IMS Health, Germany). The study population included 2,288 CVD patients between 40 and 90 years of age from 175 psychiatric practices. The observation period was between 2004 and 2013. Follow-up lasted up to 12 months and ended in April 2015. Also included were 2,288 non-CVD controls matched (1 : 1) to CVD cases on the basis of age, gender, health insurance coverage, depression severity, and diagnosing physician.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean age was 68.6 years. 46.2% of patients were men, and 5.9% had private health insurance coverage Mild, moderate, or severe depression was present in 18.7%, 60.7%, and 20.6% of patients, respectively. Most patients had treatment within a year, many of them immediately after depression diagnosis. Patients with moderate and severe depression were more likely to receive treatment than patients with mild depression. There was no difference between CVD and non-CVD in the proportion of patients treated. Nonetheless, CVD patients received selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors / serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs/SNRIs) significantly more frequently. Conversely, patients without CVD were more often treated with TCA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was no association between CVD and the initiation of depression treatment. Furthermore, CVD patients received SSRIs/SNRIs more frequently.
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Konrad
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jacob
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rapp
authors.forename: Karel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kostev
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011570:Psychiatry; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents