Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Sickness Fund Burgenland (BGKK), Eisenstadt, Austria.
J Psychiatr Res. 2019 Apr;111:128-133. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2019.01.020. Epub 2019 Jan 26.
The aim of the present study was to estimate the number of patients with a seasonal prescription pattern of antidepressants, which might be taken as a surrogate marker for medicated patients with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Furthermore, we examined the time course of sick leaves for patients with seasonal and non-seasonal prescriptions of antidepressants. A retrospective analysis of prescription data of all patients insured by the Sickness Fund Burgenland (BGKK) between 2005 and 2016 was performed. Patients with treatment initiation of an antidepressant in the last and first quarter of the year for at least two consecutive years were selected (SAD-med). Patients with continuation treatment in the third quarter and patients with initiation of antidepressant medication in the second and third quarter of the year were excluded. The mean yearly prescription rate for antidepressants was 9.6% in the insured population. 3.0% of patients treated with antidepressants and 0.9% of insured cases satisfied the definition of SAD-med. The mean number of yearly sick leave days was similar for SAD-med patients and those with non-seasonal prescriptions. Time series analysis showed that sick leaves in SAD-med were influenced by seasonal fluctuations for several years after the first antidepressant prescription. Our study sheds light on antidepressant prescription and sick leave patterns in the general population. Compared to the prevalence of SAD, the estimated rate of SAD-med is substantial. Sick leaves appear to be closely linked to antidepressant prescriptions, and show a characteristic time course before and after the initial prescription.
本研究旨在估算季节性抗抑郁药物处方模式患者的数量，这些患者可能是季节性情感障碍（SAD）药物治疗患者的替代标志物。此外，我们还研究了季节性和非季节性抗抑郁药物处方患者的病假时间进程。对 2005 年至 2016 年期间由布尔根兰州疾病基金（BGKK）承保的所有患者的处方数据进行了回顾性分析。选择了至少连续两年在去年和第一季度开始抗抑郁药物治疗的患者（SAD-med）。排除了在第三季度继续治疗和在第二和第三季度开始抗抑郁药物治疗的患者。在参保人群中，抗抑郁药物的年平均处方率为 9.6%。接受抗抑郁药物治疗的患者中有 3.0%，参保患者中有 0.9%符合 SAD-med 的定义。SAD-med 患者和非季节性处方患者的年平均病假天数相似。时间序列分析表明，在首次开抗抑郁药后的几年内，SAD-med 的病假受到季节性波动的影响。我们的研究揭示了普通人群中抗抑郁药物处方和病假模式。与 SAD 的患病率相比，估计的 SAD-med 发病率相当高。病假似乎与抗抑郁药物处方密切相关，并且在初始处方前后呈现出特定的时间进程。
