Interest of pharmacoepidemiology for the study of psychotropic drugs

Abstract

In psychiatry, drug evaluation using pharmacoepidemiological methods has been of growing interest in recent decades. Studies based on observational databases are particularly useful for psychotropic drugs due to their important prevalence in populations, and their use over long period. The authors discussed the specific interest of pharmacoepidemiological studies in the field of psychiatry through two examples: first, the use of antidepressants, and, second, the risks associated with antipsychotics.

Keywords: Antidepressants; Antipsychotics; Drug risk; Drug safety; Drug use; Pharmacoepidemiology; Pharmacovigilance; Psychotropics.