Trends in prescriptions and costs of drugs for mental disorders in England, 1998-2010

Increasing rates of prescriptions for antidepressants, antipsychotics and stimulants have been reported from various countries. To examine trends in prescriptions and the costs of all classes of psychiatric medication in England. Data from the Prescription Cost Analysis 1998-2010 was examined, using...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of psychiatry 2012-05, Vol.200 (5), p.393-398
Main Authors: Ilyas, Stephen, Moncrieff, Joanna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anti-Anxiety Agents - economics
Anti-Anxiety Agents - therapeutic use
Antidepressant drugs
Antidepressants
Antidepressive Agents - economics
Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use
Antipsychotic Agents - economics
Antipsychotic Agents - therapeutic use
Antipsychotic drugs
Anxiolytics
Central Nervous System Stimulants - economics
Central Nervous System Stimulants - therapeutic use
Data processing
Drug Costs
Drug Prescriptions - economics
Drug Prescriptions - statistics & numerical data
Drugs
England
Humans
Hypnotics
Hypnotics and Sedatives - economics
Hypnotics and Sedatives - therapeutic use
Mental disorders
Mental Disorders - drug therapy
Neuroleptics
Prescription Drugs - economics
Prescription Drugs - therapeutic use
Prescriptions
Psychiatric disorders
Psychotropic drugs
Regression analysis
Stimulants
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Summary:Increasing rates of prescriptions for antidepressants, antipsychotics and stimulants have been reported from various countries. To examine trends in prescriptions and the costs of all classes of psychiatric medication in England. Data from the Prescription Cost Analysis 1998-2010 was examined, using linear regression analysis to examine trends. Prescriptions of drugs used for mental disorders increased by 6.8% (95% CI 6.3-7.4) per year on average, in line with other drugs, but made up an increasing proportion of all prescription drug costs (P = 0.001). There were rising trends in prescriptions of all classes of psychiatric drugs, except anxiolytics and hypnotics (which did not change). Antidepressant prescriptions increased by 10% (95% CI 9.0-11) per year on average, and antipsychotics by 5.1% (95% CI 4.3-5.9). Antipsychotics overtook antidepressants as the most costly class of psychiatric medication, with costs rising 22% (95% CI 17-27) per year. Rising prescriptions may be partly explained by longer-term treatment and increasing population. Nevertheless, it appears that psychiatric drugs make an increasing contribution to total prescription drug costs, with antipsychotics becoming the most costly. Low-dose prescribing of some antipsychotics is consistent with other evidence that their use may not be restricted to those with severe mental illness.
ISSN:0007-1250
1472-1465
DOI:10.1192/bjp.bp.111.104257