{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T15:24:04Z","timestamp":1785425044037,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Royal College of Psychiatrists","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785196800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":27,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["cambridge.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BJPsych open"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"S2056472426120547_as1\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare delivery and coincided with increased psychological distress worldwide. In the UK, restrictions on healthcare access, rapid adoption of remote consultations and pressures on mental health services may have influenced prescribing of psychotropic medications. However, evidence comparing prescribing trends across the four UK nations during the pandemic remains limited.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S2056472426120547_as2\">\n                    <jats:title>Aims<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To examine trends in community prescribing of psychotropic medicines across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S2056472426120547_as3\">\n                    <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We conducted a repeated cross-sectional study of national Prescription Cost Analysis data-sets covering March 2019 to March 2023. Monthly utilisation of antidepressants, anxiolytics\/hypnotics, antipsychotics and antidementia medicines was measured, using two indicators: number of items dispensed per 1000 inhabitants and defined daily doses per 1000 inhabitants per day. Interrupted time-series regression was applied to assess changes in prescribing levels and trends associated with the first (March 2020) and second (November 2020) UK national lockdowns.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S2056472426120547_as4\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Psychotropic prescribing increased across most medicine classes during the study period. Antidepressant utilisation increased by 24.6% across the UK, representing the largest rise among psychotropic medicines. Antipsychotic prescribing increased by 2.7%; anxiolytic\/hypnotic prescribing showed modest overall change (2.7%), but this varied between nations, increasing in Scotland (7.3%) and Northern Ireland (7.4%), and declining in Wales (\u22129.5%). Antidementia medicines increased modestly overall (9.3%), with variation between countries. Interrupted time-series analyses indicated that most changes occurred gradually rather than abrupt shifts following lockdowns.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S2056472426120547_as5\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Psychotropic prescribing increased during the COVID-19 period, but largely reflected continuation of pre-existing trends rather than immediate effects of lockdown restrictions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1192\/bjo.2026.12054","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T06:05:29Z","timestamp":1785218729000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/policypage","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Psychotropic prescribing in UK primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic: national interrupted time-series analysis"],"prefix":"10.1192","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5036-1988","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amanj","family":"Kurdi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00n3w3b69","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Strathclyde"},{"name":"Al-Kitab University"},{"name":"School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University"},{"name":"Hawler Medical University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdullah","family":"Alrahmani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00n3w3b69","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Strathclyde"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saher","family":"Bakar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Technology and Applied Sciences"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chris","family":"Johnson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Brian","family":"Godman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University"},{"name":"Institute for Infection and Immunity, City St. George\u2019s, University of London"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"170","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref18","unstructured":"18 Cameron-Blake, E , Tatlow, H , Wood, A , Hale, T , Kira, B , Petherick, A , et\u00a0al. Variation in the Response to COVID-19 across the Four Nations of the United Kingdom. Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, 2020 (https:\/\/www.bsg.ox.ac.uk\/research\/publications\/variation-response-covid-19-across-four-nations-united-kingdom)."},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref20","year":"2025","journal-title":"Prescriptions in the Community"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref16","year":"2021"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref24","year":"2026"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(20)30755-8"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S2468-2667(20)30288-7"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref22","year":"2025","journal-title":"Prescription Cost Analysis"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/17512433.2025.2473613"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S2215-0366(20)30530-7"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref10","volume-title":"Adv ExpMed Biol","author":"Kim","year":"2019"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/jech-2021-216732"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref19","unstructured":"19 NHS Business Services Authority. Prescription Cost Analysis \u2013 England. NHS Business Services Authority, 2025 (https:\/\/www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk\/statistical-collections\/prescription-cost-analysis-england)."},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref2","unstructured":"2 Institute for Government. Timeline of UK Government Coronavirus Lockdowns and Restrictions . Institute for Government, 2022 (https:\/\/www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk\/data-visualisation\/timeline-coronavirus-lockdowns)."},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/trc2.12206"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref23","year":"2025","journal-title":"Population Estimates"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1365-2710.2002.00430.x"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1192\/j.eurpsy.2023.2407"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref32","volume":"18","author":"Alrahmani","journal-title":"Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/03007995.2025.2482674"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref6","volume-title":"Coronavirus and Depression in Adults, Great Britain: June 2020","author":"Vizard","year":"2020"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2022.11.068"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref3","unstructured":"3 Hutchings, R. The Impact of Covid-19 on the Use of Digital Technology in the NHS. Nuffield Trust, 2020 (https:\/\/www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk\/research\/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-the-use-of-digital-technology-in-the-nhs)."},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/14787210.2024.2368816"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref7","volume-title":"Coronavirus and Anxiety, Great Britain: 3 April 2020 to 10 May 2020","author":"Hamilton","year":"2020"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00127-025-02962-9"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref1","unstructured":"1 World Health Organization. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic . World Health Organization, 2020 (https:\/\/www.who.int\/europe\/emergencies\/situations\/covid-19)."},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref25","unstructured":"25 World Health Organization. ATC\/DDD Classification. World Health Organization, 2025 (https:\/\/atcddd.fhi.no\/atc_ddd_index\/)."},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref21","year":"2025","journal-title":"Pharmacy \/ Practice Dispensing Data"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/life15040652"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3399\/BJGP.2024.0367"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref27","year":"2021"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/14787210.2024.2363485"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref8","unstructured":"8 World Health Organization. COVID-19 Pandemic Triggers 25% Increase in Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Worldwide . World Health Organization, 2022 (https:\/\/www.who.int\/news\/item\/02-03-2022-covid-19-pandemic-triggers-25-increase-in-prevalence-of-anxiety-and-depression-worldwide)."},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1659671"},{"key":"S2056472426120547_ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S2666-7568(23)00105-8"}],"container-title":["BJPsych Open"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/services\/aop-cambridge-core\/content\/view\/S2056472426120547","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T06:05:33Z","timestamp":1785218733000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/product\/identifier\/S2056472426120547\/type\/journal_article"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"references-count":35,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]}},"alternative-id":["S2056472426120547"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1192\/bjo.2026.12054","relation":{},"ISSN":["2056-4724"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2056-4724","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"assertion":[{"value":"\u00a9 The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists","name":"copyright","label":"Copyright","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.","name":"license","label":"License","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This content has been made available to all.","name":"free","label":"Free to read"}],"article-number":"e201"}}