Use of antidepressant medication in Côte d’Ivoire (2017-2018)

Abstract

Abstract Background Like industrialized countries, people in developing world are increasingly exposed to mental disorders. Antidepressant drugs play a major role in the treatment of these disorders. The objective of this study was to describe the use of these drugs in Côte d’Ivoire based on data from a mutual health insurance company. Methods This is a retrospective analysis of the health care consumption data from the mutual insurance company for civil servants and agents of the State of Côte d’Ivoire (MUGEFCI). The sample consisted of members and beneficiaries aged twenty (20) years and over who had taken at least one antidepressant drug reimbursed by the mutual insurance company between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018. Consumption was described for each drug and expressed in defined daily doses (DDD)/1000 inhabitants/day. Results The sample consisted of 5712 people aged 20 to 88 years with an average age of 50.61±12.02 years. There was a male predominance with a sex ratio of 1.10. The number of prevalent users was 3135 in 2017 and 2607 in 2018. The number of incident users in 2018 was 2013. 10871 ’boxes’ of antidepressant drugs were consumed during the study period (52.11% in 2017 and 47.89% in 2018). Amitriptyline (52.71 DDD/1000 inhabitants/day in 2017), fluoxetine (8.60 DDD/1000 inhabitants/day in 2017) and paroxetine (3.32 DDD/1000 inhabitants/day in 2017) were the most used drugs. Their consumption increased by 11.82%, 3.71% and 41.03% respectively in 2018. Venlafaxine (0.37 DDD/1000 inhabitants/day in 2017) was among the least used molecules. Its consumption fell by 52.53% in 2018. Conclusions The overall trend was an increase in antidepressant use, with a significant proportion of new users. Key messages Depression is a public health problem that is still relevant in developing countries. Depression mainly affects young adults and can influence their productivity.