Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Psychiatr Danub. 2011 Jun;23(2):178-82.
The ratio of anxiolytics to antidepressants is an indicator of the quality of treatment of depression and anxiety in primary care. The objective of the study was to investigate the prescription of anxiolytics and antidepressants among Slovenian family physicians, including patient demographics and possible time-trends.
An exploratory survey and register-based analysis of anxiolytic and antidepressant prescriptions in 2005 and 2008 was performed. Drugs included in the study were classified according to an Anatomical-Therapeutic-Chemical (ATC) drug classification system, and ATC data were used to calculate defined daily doses (DDD) per 1,000 practice population per day. Descriptive analysis of anxiolytic/antidepressant ratio by patients' age, gender and region of residency was performed.
Total amount of prescribed antidepressant drugs increased by 45% during the observed 3-year period, while total prescribing of anxiolytics decreased by 14%, leading to the anxiolytics/antidepressants ratio diminishing from 1 to about 0.5. The highest reduction in the ratio was observed in the northeast region, characterised by high social deprivation and one of the highest suicide rates in Europe. The highest prescribing of anxiolytics and antidepressants was observed in the central region around the capital Ljubljana.
The reduction of anxiolytic prescribing and increase in antidepressant prescribing indicates improvement in prescribing practice of Slovenian family physicians. There are big variations in prescribing among different Slovenian regions, which are attributable to the number of psychiatrists and access to psychiatric treatment.
抗焦虑药物与抗抑郁药物的比例是衡量初级保健中抑郁和焦虑治疗质量的一个指标。本研究的目的是调查斯洛文尼亚家庭医生开具抗焦虑药物和抗抑郁药物的情况，包括患者的人口统计学特征和可能的时间趋势。
对 2005 年和 2008 年抗焦虑药物和抗抑郁药物的处方进行了探索性调查和基于登记的分析。研究中包含的药物根据解剖学-治疗-化学（ATC）药物分类系统进行分类，并使用 ATC 数据计算出每 1000 名患者人群中每天的限定日剂量（DDD）。根据患者年龄、性别和居住地的区域，对抗焦虑/抗抑郁药物比值进行了描述性分析。
在观察的 3 年期间，抗抑郁药物的总处方量增加了 45%，而抗焦虑药物的总处方量减少了 14%，导致抗焦虑药物/抗抑郁药物的比值从 1 降至约 0.5。在东北部地区，比值的下降幅度最大，该地区社会贫困程度较高，是欧洲自杀率最高的地区之一。在首都卢布尔雅那周围的中心地区，抗焦虑药物和抗抑郁药物的处方量最高。
抗焦虑药物处方减少和抗抑郁药物处方增加表明，斯洛文尼亚家庭医生的处方实践有所改善。斯洛文尼亚不同地区的处方存在很大差异，这归因于精神科医生的数量和获得精神科治疗的机会。
