prescribing pattern of antidepressant drugs among general practitioners and psychiatrists: a study from iran

Aim – This study was aimed to investigate the pattern of antidepressant drugs prescription among general practitioners and psychiatrists of Kerman/Iran with the goal of preventing irrational drug use. Methods – A total of 279737 prescriptions by general practitioners and psychiatrists of Kerman in 2010-2011 were reviewed. The frequency of antidepressant drugs prescription based on patients’ sex and age group (10-year age groups), the prescribed drug group and the prescriber (general practitioner or psychiatrist) was assessed. Results - In whole, 3.1% of prescriptions included antidepressant drugs. Females` share of receiving antidepressant drugs was 63.7% and males’ was 36.3%. Maximum prescription rate was for the age group of 30-39 years (28%), while the lowest rate of antidepressant drugs prescription belonged to the age groups of fewer than 10 years and over 80 years. While 59.3% of prescriptions containing antidepressant drugs had been written by psychiatrists, 68.2% of patients referred to the psychiatrists had received antidepressants. Selective serotonin re-uptake specific inhibitors (SSRIs) were included in approximately 52.6% of prescriptions containing antidepressant drugs. Tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) with 37.4% prevalence rate were in the second rank. Conclusion – SSRIs followed by TCAs attained the highest rate of prescription by both general practitioners and psychiatrists. Low rate of antidepressant drugs in the prescriptions of general practitioners warrants more studies.