Abstract
Present guidelines for the prescribing of antidepressant medication, with particular reference to the duration of treatment, are unclear (BNF, 1989). Evidence suggests that continuation of treatment for at least six months is valuable in the prevention of relapse of the acute illness (Mindham et al, 1975). Other workers have demonstrated a prophylactic effect similar to lithium over a three year period in patients with unipolar depression. There is, however, a paucity of information about the benefits (or lack of benefits) of longer term maintenance treatment. This study focuses on a population of a type which has been previously studied elsewhere – of patients in general practice receiving long-term (greater than one year) antidepressant medication. The implications of this to the psychiatrist and general practice–psychiatry liaison are discussed.
Highlights
The study was based in a large group practice con sisting of nine partners covering a population of approximately 20,000 patients
When the rates of con sultations were compared with the national averages, they were found to be higher in the study population in all the age-sex ranges; in particular males aged 16-44 attended on average eight times whereas the national average was two
Of them 107 (72%) were women whose age range was from 32-89 years
Summary
The study was based in a large group practice con sisting of nine partners covering a population of approximately 20,000 patients. The area covered was a combination of both rural and urban housing. The practice computer was used to identify those patients who had repeat prescriptions of antidepressant medi cation (excluding monoamine-oxidase inhibitors) available to them. The patients' notes were retrieved and a retrospective analysis carried out
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