JOURNAL OF THE CZECH PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY AND THE SLOVAK PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY

Čes. slov. farm. 2010, 59(5):199-204

Depression relapse and antidepressants consumption in the quality of life aspect

L. Kavaliauskienė1, R. Pečiūra1, V. Adomaitienė2, R. Masteiková3,*
1 Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Medical Academy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Drug Technology and Social Pharmacy, Kaunas, Lithuania
2 Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Medical Academy, Department of Psychiatry, Kaunas, Lithuania
3 University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutics, Brno, Czech Republic

Depression represents one of the most severe health problems. It belongs to the diseases which cause the largest amount of non-fatal disease burden worldwide, and greatly influences the quality of life. The frequency of this disease is connected with the consumption of antidepressants. This study thus aimed to overview the trends of antidepressants consumption in Lithuania, to assess the number of depression cases, when diagnosed for the first time and repeatedly with regard to demographic situation, and to evaluate the impact of this disease on women and the society. All prescribed antidepressants were divided into four groups, according to the ATC classification. Consumption of the preparations from single groups was expressed in defined daily doses (DDD), and utilization was expressed as DDD per 1000 inhabitants per day. The results demonstrate that each year there are more diagnosed cases of depression, which is related mainly with depression relapses. This increase is attended with the growth of antidepressants consumption: from 2004 till 2009 this indicator had increased even by 48%. At the same time, the character of pharmacotherapy has changed - the prescription of tricyclic antidepressants was markedly decreased, and the prescription of bicyclic derivatives (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors - SSRI) and other more recent preparations increased. The demographic data show that women suffer from depression significantly more - in Lithuania this disease was diagnosed in women four times more than in men, the incidence of depression relapse was often more frequent.

Keywords: depression; relapse; consumption of antidepressants; quality of life

Received: September 29, 2010; Accepted: October 11, 2010; Published: May 1, 2010  Show citation

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Kavaliauskienė L, Pečiūra R, Adomaitienė V, Masteiková R. Depression relapse and antidepressants consumption in the quality of life aspect. Čes. slov. farm. 2010;59(5):199-204.
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