Lenderts Susan, Kalali Amir H, Weisler Richard
Ms. Lenderts is Manager, Strategic Analytics, Quintiles Commercial, Falls Church, Virginia.
Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2010 Feb;7(2):17-23.
We analyzed use of therapeutic drug classes for the treatment of depression by the three levels of physician-reported disease severity (mild, moderate, and severe) to understand if the mix of therapeutic classes used to treat depression changes as disease severity increases. Prior to analyzing drug uses in each severity category, we established that in the 12 months ending November 2009, the majority of patients (65%) were assigned a severity rating of 'moderate' by their physician; 27 percent and eight percent of patients were designated as 'mild' and 'severe,' respectively. In general, we found that as disease severity changes, so too do the proportions of the various therapeutic classes used in depression. The differences in class mix by severity have persisted at least since the 12 months ending December 2008, and it appears that the mix of drug classes used in severe depression are becoming less similar to the class mix for moderate depression over time.
我们根据医生报告的疾病严重程度的三个级别（轻度、中度和重度）分析了用于治疗抑郁症的治疗药物类别，以了解随着疾病严重程度的增加，用于治疗抑郁症的治疗类别组合是否会发生变化。在分析每个严重程度类别中的药物使用情况之前，我们确定在截至2009年11月的12个月中，大多数患者（65%）被医生评定为“中度”严重程度；分别有27%和8%的患者被指定为“轻度”和“重度”。总体而言，我们发现随着疾病严重程度的变化，用于治疗抑郁症的各种治疗类别的比例也会发生变化。至少自截至2008年12月的12个月以来，按严重程度划分的类别组合差异一直存在，而且随着时间的推移，重度抑郁症中使用的药物类别组合似乎与中度抑郁症的类别组合越来越不相似。
