Antidepressants Commonly Prescribed for Reasons Other Than Depression
Nearly half of antidepressants prescribed by primary care physicians are for indications other than depression, suggests a study in the May 24-31 JAMA.
The study, conducted by Jenna Wong, MSc, of McGill University in Montreal and colleagues, looked at data from an electronic medical record and prescribing system for 19,734 patients seen by 158 primary care physicians in Quebec. The analysis included 101,759 prescriptions for antibiotics written between January 2006 and September 2015. The electronic prescribing system required physicians to document a treatment indication for each prescription.
In all, antidepressants made up 6% of the total medications prescribed by the physicians in the study, researchers found. Just 55% of antidepressants prescribed were for depression.
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Other indications the antidepressants were prescribed to treat included anxiety disorders (18.5%), insomnia (10%), pain (6%), and panic disorders (4%), according to the study. For 66% of the nondepressive-related prescriptions for antidepressants, the drug was prescribed for an off-label indication not evaluated by regulatory agencies, such as insomnia or pain. In fact, several indications were off-label for all antidepressants, such as migraine, vasomotor symptoms of menopause, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and disorders of the digestive system.
“The findings indicate that the mere presence of an antidepressant prescription is a poor proxy for depression treatment,” researchers wrote, “and they highlight the need to evaluate the evidence supporting off-label antidepressant use.”
– Jolynn Tumolo
References
Antidepressants commonly and increasingly prescribed for nondepressive indications [press release]. Charlottesville, VA : Newswise ; May 20, 2016.
