Table 1.
Frequency distribution of population characteristics by antidepressant use in completed suicide analysis. Values are percentages (numbers) unless stated otherwise
| Characteristic | Venlafaxine | Citalopram | Fluoxetine | Dothiepin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No of participants | 37 857 | 75 749 | 108 934 | 54 035 |
| Mean (SD) age (years) | 46.2 (16.4) | 47.1 (18.0) | 43.9 (16.7) | 48.6 (7.3) |
| Men | 33.5 (12 671) | 30.5 (23 108) | 30.6 (33 322) | 30.0 (16 212) |
| No of treatment episodes | 89 296 | 160 189 | 283 865 | 125 123 |
| First prescription ≤14 days | 9.9 (8872) | 7.3 (11 622) | 19.7 (55 960) | 10.2 (12 751) |
| Overlap with other antidepressants | 22.4 (19 997) | 11.6 (18 554) | 8.7 (24 705) | 13.4 (16 755) |
| Exposure during first 30 days of treatment episode | 53.8 (48 036) | 59.9 (96 019) | 54.8 (155 571) | 59.5 (74 408) |
| Drug history before treatment episode: | ||||
| Same antidepressant | 61.6 (55 008) | 54.3 (87 000) | 63.2 (179 492) | 60.4 (75 535) |
| Other antidepressants | 90.6 (80 871) | 68.7 (109 972) | 59.9 (170 077) | 62.6 (78 283) |
| Other antidepressants in previous year | 55.9 (49 960) | 32.5 (52 056) | 25.8 (73 278) | 32.3 (40 428) |
| History of antidepressant multitherapy | 13.4 (11 933) | 7.2 (11 588) | 5.8 (16 599) | 7.4 (9207) |
| No of other previous antidepressants: | ||||
| 0 | 9.4 (8425) | 31.3 (50 217) | 40.1 (113 788) | 37.4 (46 840) |
| ≥3 | 40.8 (36 417) | 22.9 (36 610) | 14.7 (41 753) | 17.3 (21 591) |
| Any psychotropic therapy* in 60 days before treatment episode | 25.8 (23 014) | 18.2 (29 162) | 13.9 (39 566) | 18.5 (23 162) |
| Suicidal behaviour in year before treatment episode | 1.9 (1737) | 0.9 (1423) | 0.8 (2213) | 0.4 (549) |
| Admission to hospital for psychiatric disorders in month before treatment episode | 1.2 (1098) | 0.9 (1403) | 0.6 (1825) | 0.6 (726) |
| Psychiatric referral in year before treatment episode | 3.4 (3002) | 1.7 (2756) | 1.0 (2979) | 0.7 (913) |
| Any psychiatric morbidity† in year before treatment episode | 76.8 (68 609) | 78.4 (125 561) | 77.3 (219 540) | 69.8 (87 306) |
| Non-psychiatric morbidity‡ | 11.2 (10 036) | 11.9 (18 988) | 10.3 (29 333) | 12.2 (15 279) |
| Major life events | 2.8 (2469) | 2.9 (4693) | 2.9 (8303) | 3.6 (4493) |
| Lifestyle factors | 8.5 (7581) | 7.4 (11 830) | 5.1 (14 618) | 4.5 (5576) |
| Family history of psychiatric morbidity | 2.1 (1846) | 1.5 (2344) | 1.1 (2999) | 1.0 (1205) |
*Mood stabilisers, including carbamazepine, clonazepam, gabapentin, lamotrigine, lithium, topiramate, valproic acid, antipsychotics, and benzodiazepines.
†Depression, including dysthymia and chronic fatigue syndrome; somatoform disorders (for example, somatisation disorder and hypochondriasis); eating disorders (anorexia and bulimia nervosa); anxiety disorders, including phobias (social phobia, agoraphobia, simple phobias), obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder; mixed anxiety depressive disorder; bipolar affective disorder; schizophrenia; substance abuse disorder and alcohol abuse syndrome; dementia; and personality disorders, including schizoid, borderline, and antisocial behaviour.
‡Cancer, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, cirrhosis, myocardial infarction, stroke, renal failure, respiratory diseases, and arthritis.