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Review
. 2021 Jun;29(1):217-221.
doi: 10.1007/s40199-021-00390-z. Epub 2021 Mar 13.

Surging trends in prescriptions and costs of antidepressants in England amid COVID-19

Shahad A Rabeea  1 , Hamid A Merchant  1 , Muhammad Umair Khan  2 , Chia Siang Kow  3 , Syed Shahzad Hasan  4
Affiliations
Review

Surging trends in prescriptions and costs of antidepressants in England amid COVID-19

Shahad A Rabeea et al. Daru. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

The social restrictions amid coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have posed a serious threat to mental health and have implications in the use of medications for mental health including antidepressants (ADs). This study investigated the trends in prescriptions and costs of various ADs in England during COVID-19 pandemic. National prescribing rates and net ingredient costs (NIC) of all ADs prescriptions during 2016 to 2020 were analyed. The total number of ADs prescriptions dispensed during COVID-19 pandemic (January to December 2020) were 78 million, 4 million more than in 2019 that costed NHS England £ 139 million more than in 2019. Sertraline, an SSRI antidepressant drug, alone accounted for an extra £113 million during 2020 than in 2019. The peak dispensing for ADs was observed in March 2020 while the total costs for AD drugs peaked in April 2020. The rising prescription costs for ADs during COVID-19 pandemic is a potential cause of concern, in particular the increasing use in adolescents and younger adults needs attention, who are at a higher risk of life-threatening adverse drug reactions.

Keywords: Antidepressants; Anxiety; Cost; Depression; Interventions; Mental health; Prescribing trends; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Total antidepressant drugs dispensed and associated cost during COVID-19 pandemic (2020) and preceding years
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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