SSRI antidepressant drug use patterns in the naturalistic setting: a multivariate analysis

The study of the duration and pattern of antidepressant use in actual clinical practice can provide important insights into how antidepressant prescribing patterns compare with recommended depression treatment guidelines.

The purpose of this study, using data available from depressed outpatients in the United States, is to assess the effects of initial SSRI antidepressant selection on the subsequent pattern and duration of antidepressant use.

Multiple logistic regression analysis of data from a large prescription and medical claims database (MarketScan) for the years 1993 and 1994 were used to estimate the determinants of antidepressant drug use patterns for 1,034 patients with a "new" episode of antidepressant therapy who were prescribed one of three most often prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), paroxetine, sertraline, or fluoxetine.

Patients initiating therapy on sertraline or paroxetine were less likely than patients initiating therapy on fluoxetine to have four or more prescriptions of their initial antidepressant within the first 6 months.

The findings suggest that antidepressant selection is an important determinant of the initial duration and pattern of antidepressant use which is consistent with current recommended depression treatment guidelines.