Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antidepressant use in eleven European regions: a comparative time series analysis 2018–2022 (1)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic had detrimental effects on the mental health of populations, with possibly differing influences on different demographic groups. Varying national countermeasures to the pandemic may have further impacted these effects. This study aimed at exploring the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on dispensed volumes of antidepressants in outpatient settings in different regions of Europe, and assessing potential age and sex-related differences of the impact of the pandemic on incidence and prevalence of antidepressant dispensing. We used monthly pharmacy dispensing data from January 2018 to December 2022 in eleven European regions. For six regions, the data were stratified into five age groups and by sex. During the pandemic, the pre-existing long-term trend in unstratified dispensed volumes significantly increased only in Slovenia and Germany and weakened in Scotland and Wales (estimated change of slope 0.16, 0.10, –0.23, and –0.68 defined daily doses per thousand inhabitants per day, respectively, for each month). The stratified quarterly analysis showed the greatest relative increase in females aged 0 – 17 (64% in Sweden to 167% in Croatia in the last quarter of 2022 compared to the last quarter of 2019). Both rate of change and difference between sexes were lower in higher age groups. Incidence increased most steeply in females aged 0 – 17, where the estimated pandemic-related increase explained 11% (Sweden) to 55% (Lombardy) of new patients receiving antidepressants. This study enabled us to estimate the impact of the pandemic on incidence and dispensed volumes of antidepressants and to assess region-, age- and sex-related differences.

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DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-025-02962-9

Repository URI

https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/93323/