McCreadie R G, McCormick M, Morrison D P
Br J Psychiatry. 1985 Jan;146:77-80. doi: 10.1192/bjp.146.1.77.
A review in South-West Scotland of all patients prescribed lithium for the first time during the years 1972-82 showed that on average, 12 per 100,000 of the general population start this drug each year. By the end of the period, lithium had been stopped in 58% of patients; the most common reason for discontinuation was the development of side-effects, of which tremor was the most frequent. In only 15% was lithium stopped as it was considered no longer necessary; 44% of patients discontinued lithium within one year of starting it.
