Table 1.
Prescription patterns before and after initial overdose in cohorts with and without prior psychiatric treatment
| Psychotropic prescriptions | Psychiatrist cohort, n (%)
|
No-psychiatrist cohort, n (%)
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 days before overdose (n=6,790) |
Days 31–90 after overdose (n=6,533) |
Days 91–365 after overdose (n=6,282) |
60 days before overdose (n=4,950) |
Days 31–90 after overdose (n=4,850) |
Days 91–365 after overdose (n=4,785) |
|
| Benzodiazepinesa | ||||||
| None (0 mg) | 419 (6.2) | 1,302 (19.9) | 1,532 (24.4) | 3,518 (71.1) | 3,247 (66.9) | 3,104 (64.9) |
| Normal (>0 to ≤15 mg) | 3,172 (46.7) | 2,647 (40.5) | 2,657 (42.3) | 1,114 (22.5) | 1,237 (25.5) | 1,362 (28.5) |
| High (>15 to ≤30 mg) | 1,807 (26.6) | 1,457 (22.3) | 1,250 (19.9) | 190 (3.8) | 225 (4.6) | 197 (4.1) |
| Excessive (>30 mg) | 1,392 (20.5) | 1,127 (17.3) | 843 (13.4) | 128 (2.6) | 141 (2.9) | 122 (2.5) |
| Barbiturates | 1,012 (14.9) | 762 (11.7) | 776 (12.4) | 136 (2.7) | 144 (3.0) | 144 (3.0) |
| Antidepressantsb | ||||||
| None (0 mg) | 2,250 (33.1) | 2,975 (45.5) | 2,892 (46.0) | 4,447 (89.8) | 4,061 (83.7) | 3,938 (82.3) |
| Normal (>0 to ≤300 mg) | 4,217 (62.1) | 3,325 (50.9) | 3,194 (50.8) | 484 (9.8) | 766 (15.8) | 827 (17.3) |
| High (>300 mg) | 323 (4.8) | 233 (3.6) | 196 (3.1) | 19 (0.4) | 23 (0.5) | 20 (0.4) |
| Antipsychoticsc | ||||||
| None (0 mg) | 2,747 (40.5) | 2,841 (43.5) | 2,684 (42.7) | 4,648 (93.9) | 4,257 (87.8) | 4,143 (86.6) |
| Normal (>0 to ≤450 mg) | 3,327 (49.0) | 3,010 (46.1) | 2,978 (47.4) | 275 (5.6) | 545 (11.2) | 591 (12.4) |
| High (>450 mg) | 716 (10.5) | 682 (10.4) | 620 (9.9) | 27 (0.5) | 48 (1.0) | 51 (1.1) |
| Stabilizers | 2,188 (32.2) | 1,898 (29.1) | 1,985 (31.6) | 272 (5.5) | 379 (7.8) | 419 (8.8) |
Notes:
a
Daily dosage expressed in diazepam equivalents.
b
Daily dosage expressed in imipramine equivalents.
c
Daily dosage expressed in chlorpromazine equivalents.