{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]],"date-time":"2026-09-25T04:06:31Z","timestamp":1790309191887,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"2","content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Open"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2018,11,15]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2019,2]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Antidepressant prescribing almost doubled in the Netherlands between 1996 and 2012, which could be accounted for by longer continuation after the first prescription. This might be problematic given a growing concern of large-scale antidepressant dependence. We aimed to assess the extent and determinants of chronic antidepressant prescribing among patient aged 18 years and older. We hypothesise a relatively large prevalence of chronic (&gt;2 years) prescription.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Design<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>A longitudinal observational study based on routinely registered prescription data from general practice.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Setting<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>189 general practices in the Netherlands.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Participants<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>326\u2009025 patients with valid prescription data for all 5\u2009years of the study.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Outcome measures<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Primary outcome measure: the number of patients (N) receiving at least four antidepressant prescriptions in 2011, as well as during each of the four subsequent years. Secondary outcome measure: the above, but specified for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and for tricyclic antidepressants.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Antidepressants were prescribed to almost 7% of our 326\u2009025 participants each year. They were prescribed for depression (38%), anxiety (17%), other psychological disorders (20%) and non-psychological indications (25%). Antidepressants were prescribed in all 5\u2009years to the 42% of the population who had at least four prescriptions dispensed in 2011. Chronic prescribing was higher among women than men, for those aged 45\u201364 years than for those aged &gt;65 years and for those treated for depression or anxiety than for non-psychological indications (eg, neuropathic pain). Chronic prescribing also varied markedly among general practices.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Chronic antidepressant use is common for depression and for anxiety and non-psychological diagnoses. Once antidepressants have been prescribed, general practitioners and other prescribers should be aware of the risks associated with long-term use and should provide annual monitoring of the continued need for therapy.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2018-024051","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,2,6]],"date-time":"2019-02-06T05:25:23Z","timestamp":1549430723000},"page":"e024051","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":37,"title":["What proportion of initially prescribed antidepressants is still being prescribed chronically after 5 years in general practice? 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