Table 3.
Prior Use of Central Nervous System Drugs Among Individuals With a Diagnosis of Depression Compared With Individuals With No Diagnosis of Depression, and Their Association With a Diagnosis of Depressiona
| Variable | Depression Cohort (n=47,170)b | Comparison Cohort (n=50,000)b | Odds Ratioc | 95% CI |
| Antidepressants overalld | 5,782 (12.3) | 540 (1.1) | 9.97 | 9.10–10.91 |
| TCA-Ser | 1,064 (2.3) | 238 (0.5) | 3.18 | 2.74–3.68 |
| TCA-Nor | 131 (0.3) | 11 (0.0) | 8.78 | 4.68–16.48 |
| SSRIs | 4,058 (8.6) | 229 (0.5) | 15.59 | 13.61–17.86 |
| SNRIs | 386 (0.8) | 33 (0.1) | 8.44 | 5.86–12.14 |
| MAOIs | 2 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | … | … |
| Other antidepressantse | 331 (0.7) | 41 (0.1) | 5.25 | 3.75–7.33 |
| Migraine drugs | 398 (0.8) | 281 (0.6) | 1.29 | 1.10–1.52 |
| Hypnotics | 2,041 (4.3) | 342 (0.7) | 4.55 | 4.03–5.13 |
| Anxiolytics | 1,290 (2.7) | 280 (0.6) | 3.05 | 2.66–3.50 |
| Antipsychotics | 918 (2.0) | 312 (0.6) | 2.18 | 1.90–2.50 |
Data are presented as n (%).
Patients whose supply of medication from their most recent prescription lasted until the index date or ended in the 30 days before the index date.
Odds ratios adjusted for age, sex, calendar year, smoking, primary care physician visits, stress, and sleep and anxiety disorders.
The numbers for the different groups sum to more than 5,782 because some patients were prescribed more than 1 type of antidepressant.
Other antidepressants: mianserin, bupropion, reboxetine, mirtazapine, dibenzepin, maprotiline, iprindole, nomifensine, viloxazine, trazodone, nefazodone, opipramol, flupentixol, and tryptophan.
Abbreviations: MAOIs=monoamine oxidase inhibitors, SNRIs=serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, SSRIs=selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, TCA-Nor=tricyclic antidepressants with a predominant action on the reuptake of norepinephrine, TCA-Ser=tricyclic antidepressants with an inhibitory action on the reuptake of serotonin.
Symbol: …=no data.