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Psychotropic Medication Use Before and During COVID-19: A Population-Wide Study
Christine Leong1,2, Kaarina Kowalec1,3, Sherif Eltonsy1
1College of Pharmacy, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
|May 16, 2022
Summary
Psychotropic medication use decreased initially during COVID-19 restrictions, with fewer new antidepressant and anxiolytic prescriptions. However, by late 2020, new antidepressant and antipsychotic use increased, particularly among females and older adults.
Area of Science:
- Public Health and Epidemiology
- Psychiatry and Mental Health
- Health Services Research
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures raised concerns about mental health and psychotropic medication access.
- Understanding changes in psychotropic medication dispensation is crucial for assessing pandemic-related mental health impacts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate shifts in the rates of antipsychotic, antidepressant, and anxiolytic/sedative-hypnotic dispensations before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- To analyze these changes across different demographic groups, including age and sex.
Main Methods:
- Utilized administrative health data from Manitoba, Canada, covering January 2015 to December 2020.
- Analyzed quarterly incidence and prevalence of key psychotropic medications.
- Employed autoregression models with time series data and indicator variables to compare 2020 data against expected trends post-March 2020 public health measures.
Main Results:
- A significant decrease in incident antidepressant and anxiolytic use was observed in Q2 2020 (April-June) compared to expected trends.
- Conversely, by Q4 2020 (October-December), there was a significant increase in incident antidepressant and antipsychotic use among females and individuals aged 40 and older.
- The oldest age group (80+) showed the highest rates of new psychotropic medication use at the end of 2020.
Conclusions:
- The initial months of COVID-19 restrictions saw a reduction in new antidepressant and anxiolytic prescriptions.
- Later in 2020, new prescriptions for antidepressants and antipsychotics rose, particularly affecting females and older adults (40+).
- These findings highlight dynamic shifts in psychotropic medication use patterns during the pandemic, necessitating continued monitoring.
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