Table 1.
Population characteristics stratified by indication
| Characteristic | Total, N (%)a | General medical indication | Psychiatric indication, specific | Psychiatric indication, non‐specific | P‐value comparisonb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons, N (%)a | Persons, N (%)a | Persons, N (%)a | |||
| Sex | |||||
| Women | 1973 (61.7) | 448 (65.1) | 1111 (61.0) | 414 (60.0) | 0.10 |
| Men | 1226 (38.3) | 240 (34.9) | 710 (39.0) | 276 (40.0) | |
| Age when prescribed | |||||
| 65‐69 y | 736 (23.0) | 193 (28.1) | 416 (22.8) | 127 (18.4) | <0.0001 |
| 70‐74 y | 670 (20.9) | 173 (25.1) | 378 (20.8) | 119 (17.2) | |
| 75‐79 y | 599 (18.7) | 133 (19.3) | 332 (18.2) | 134 (19.4) | |
| 80‐84 y | 576 (18.0) | 109 (15.8) | 337 (18.5) | 130 (18.8) | |
| 85‐89 y | 381 (11.9) | 52 (7.6) | 224 (12.3) | 105 (15.2) | |
| 90+ y | 237 (7.4) | 28 (4.1) | 134 (7.4) | 75 (10.9) | |
| Calendar year | |||||
| 2005‐2006 | 950 (29.7) | 216 (31.4) | 558 (30.6) | 176 (25.5) | 0.01 |
| 2007‐2008 | 801 (25.0) | 174 (25.3) | 428 (23.5) | 199 (28.8) | |
| 2009‐2010 | 777 (24.3) | 151 (21.9) | 440 (24.2) | 186 (27.0) | |
| 2011‐2012 | 671 (21.0) | 147 (21.4) | 395 (21.7) | 129 (18.7) | |
| Race | |||||
| White race | 2946 (92.1) | 621 (90.3) | 1668 (91.6) | 657 (95.2) | 0.002 |
| Non‐white racec | 253 (7.9) | 67 (9.7) | 153 (8.4) | 33 (4.8) | |
| Education level | |||||
| HS/GED or less | 1602 (50.1) | 349 (50.7) | 901 (49.5) | 352 (51.0) | 0.73 |
| Some college or more | 1597 (49.9) | 339 (49.3) | 920 (50.5) | 338 (49.0) | |
| Type of antidepressant prescribed | |||||
| SSRIs | 1390 (43.5) | 39 (5.7) | 793 (43.5) | 558 (80.9) | <0.0001 |
| SNRIs | 161 (5.0) | 119 (17.3) | 34 (1.9) | 8 (1.2) | |
| Bupropion | 103 (3.2) | 1 (0.1) | 93 (5.1) | 9 (1.3) | |
| Mirtazapine | 394 (12.3) | 71 (10.3) | 220 (12.1) | 103 (14.9) | |
| TCA | 525 (16.4) | 456 (66.3) | 64 (3.5) | 5 (0.7) | |
| Trazadone/Nefazodone | 626 (19.6) | 2 (0.3) | 617 (33.9) | 7 (1.0) | |
| Setting of prescription | |||||
| Outpatient | 2719 (85.0) | 619 (90.0) | 1554 (85.3) | 546 (79.1) | <0.0001 |
| Inpatient | 156 (4.9) | 21 (3.1) | 112 (6.2) | 23 (3.3) | |
| Otherd | 324 (10.1) | 48 (7.0) | 155 (8.5) | 121 (17.5) | |
| Mode of prescription | |||||
| Office visit | 2965 (92.7) | 654 (95.1) | 1724 (94.7) | 587 (85.1) | <0.0001 |
| Tele./email/portale | 234 (7.3) | 34 (4.9) | 97 (5.3) | 103 (14.9) | |
| Living | |||||
| Community dwelling | 2773 (86.7) | 629 (91.4) | 1584 (87.0) | 560 (81.2) | <0.0001 |
| Nursing home/other | 426 (13.3) | 59 (8.6) | 237 (13.0) | 130 (18.8) | |
| Type of prescriber | |||||
| Non‐physician | 178 (5.6) | 34 (4.9) | 97 (5.3) | 47 (6.8) | <0.0001 |
| Primary care physician | 2435 (76.1) | 444 (64.5) | 1411 (77.5) | 580 (84.1) | |
| Psychiatrist | 140 (4.4) | 1 (0.1) | 136 (7.5) | 3 (0.4) | |
| Other specialists | 433 (13.5) | 206 (29.9) | 170 (9.3) | 57 (8.3) | |
| Unknown | 13 (0.4) | 3 (0.4) | 7 (0.4) | 3 (0.4) | |
| Number of other medical conditionsf | |||||
| 0‐3 | 821 (25.7) | 237 (34.4) | 444 (24.4) | 140 (20.3) | <0.0001 |
| 4‐6 | 1309 (40.9) | 260 (37.8) | 799 (43.9) | 250 (36.2) | |
| 7‐10 | 856 (26.8) | 161 (23.4) | 481 (26.4) | 214 (31.0) | |
| 11 or more | 213 (6.7) | 30 (4.4) | 97 (5.3) | 86 (12.5) | |
| Number of other prescriptionsg | |||||
| 0‐3 | 671 (21.0) | 174 (25.3) | 368 (20.2) | 129 (18.7) | 0.06 |
| 4‐6 | 1119 (35.0) | 223 (32.4) | 635 (34.9) | 261 (37.8) | |
| 7‐10 | 1074 (33.6) | 222 (32.3) | 622 (34.2) | 230 (33.3) | |
| 11 or more | 335 (10.5) | 69 (10.0) | 196 (10.8) | 70 (10.1) | |
| Number of outpatient visits in previous 365 d | |||||
| 0‐3 | 752 (23.5) | 130 (18.9) | 494 (27.1) | 128 (18.6) | <0.0001 |
| 4‐6 | 916 (28.6) | 185 (26.9) | 541 (29.7) | 190 (27.5) | |
| 7‐10 | 766 (23.9) | 175 (25.4) | 426 (23.4) | 165 (23.9) | |
| 11 or more | 765 (23.9) | 198 (28.8) | 360 (19.8) | 207 (30.0) | |
| Number of outpatient prescribersh | |||||
| 0‐1 | 997 (31.2) | 168 (24.4) | 656 (36.0) | 173 (25.1) | <0.0001 |
| 2 | 919 (28.7) | 220 (32.0) | 536 (29.4) | 163 (23.6) | |
| 3 | 580 (18.1) | 129 (18.8) | 317 (17.4) | 134 (19.4) | |
| 4 or more | 703 (22.0) | 171 (24.9) | 312 (17.1) | 220 (31.9) | |
| Number of emergency room visits in previous 365 d | |||||
| None | 1841 (57.5) | 435 (63.2) | 1036 (56.9) | 370 (53.6) | 0.002 |
| 1 | 813 (25.4) | 152 (22.1) | 484 (26.6) | 177 (25.7) | |
| 2 | 319 (10.0) | 58 (8.4) | 187 (10.3) | 74 (10.7) | |
| 3 | 116 (3.6) | 19 (2.8) | 62 (3.4) | 35 (5.1) | |
| 4 or more | 110 (3.4) | 24 (3.5) | 52 (2.9) | 34 (4.9) | |
| Number of hospitalizations in previous 365 d | |||||
| None | 2144 (67.0) | 490 (71.2) | 1214 (66.7) | 440 (63.8) | 0.002 |
| 1 | 712 (22.3) | 141 (20.5) | 420 (23.1) | 151 (21.9) | |
| 2 | 215 (6.7) | 30 (4.4) | 126 (6.9) | 59 (8.6) | |
| 3 or more | 128 (4.0) | 27 (3.9) | 61 (3.3) | 40 (5.8) | |
AD, antidepressant; SNRIs, serotonin‐norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor; TCA, tricyclic antidepressant.
The percent values represent the proportion of persons with the given characteristic (i.e., the rows within a characteristic sum to 100%).
P‐values are for statistical comparisons of the distribution of characteristics across indication types. For example, there are significant differences in the age distribution of persons across the three indication groups. Only 11.7% of persons with a general medical indication for AD prescriptions were ≥ 85 y of age, whereas the frequencies of persons ≥ 85 y of age with a specific psychiatric indication or with a non‐specific psychiatric indication were higher (19.7% and 26.1%, respectively).
Non‐white race includes Blacks, Asians, mixed race, Hispanic, and Other types as self‐reported by persons.
Other settings include nursing home, emergency room, and unknown settings.
Includes telephone, email, online medical portal, and other types of non‐office visits.
Other chronic conditions being treated at time of incident AD prescription.
Other prescription medications taken at time of incident AD prescription.
Number of unique health care providers who prescribed at least one medication in the 365 d before incident AD prescription.