TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychotropic drug consumption
AU - Benistand, Paul
AU - Vorilhon, Philippe
AU - Laporte, Catherine
AU - Bouillon-Minois, Jean-Baptiste
AU - Brousse, Georges
AU - Bagheri, Reza
AU - Ugbolue, Ukadike Chris
AU - Baker, Julien S.
AU - Flaudias, Valentin
AU - Mulliez, Aurélien
AU - Dutheil, Frédéric
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Benistand, Vorilhon, Laporte, Bouillon-Minois, Brousse, Bagheri, Ugbolue, Baker, Flaudias, Mulliez and Dutheil.
PY - 2022/12/15
Y1 - 2022/12/15
N2 - Importance: Although the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on mental health, there is no comprehensive longitudinal study of the entire population of a country without selection bias. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the prescription of psychotropic drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic, using data from the French national health data system (SNDS). Design, settings, and participants: Prescriptions for psychotropic drugs (antidepressants, anxiolytics, hypnotics, and antipsychotics) from 1 January 2015 to 30 September 2021 were collected from administrative data provided by the SNDS. This database includes more than 99% of the French population, i.e., 67 million people. The data were analyzed using an interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) model. Main outcomes and measures: Consumption of psychotropic drugs was aggregated in months and expressed in number of boxes per thousand inhabitants. Results: During the study period, more than 1.3 billion boxes of psychotropic medications were dispensed. Comparison of psychotropic drug dispensing before and after the pandemic showed a relative increase of 0.76 (95 CI 0.57 to 0.95, p<0.001) boxes per month per thousand inhabitants, all classes of psychotropic drugs combined. Three classes saw their consumption increase in an almost similar proportion, respectively, by 0.23 (0.15 to 0.32, p<0.001) boxes for antidepressants, 0.27 (0.20 to 0.34, p<0.001) boxes for anxiolytics and 0.23 (0.17 to 0.30, p<0.001) boxes for hypnotics. The change in antipsychotic consumption was very small, with an increase of 0.04 boxes (0.02 to 0.06, p = 0.001) per month per thousand population. Conclusion and relevance: The COVID-19 pandemic had led to an increase in the consumption of psychotropic drugs, confirming the significant impact of the pandemic on the mental health of the general population.
AB - Importance: Although the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on mental health, there is no comprehensive longitudinal study of the entire population of a country without selection bias. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the prescription of psychotropic drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic, using data from the French national health data system (SNDS). Design, settings, and participants: Prescriptions for psychotropic drugs (antidepressants, anxiolytics, hypnotics, and antipsychotics) from 1 January 2015 to 30 September 2021 were collected from administrative data provided by the SNDS. This database includes more than 99% of the French population, i.e., 67 million people. The data were analyzed using an interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) model. Main outcomes and measures: Consumption of psychotropic drugs was aggregated in months and expressed in number of boxes per thousand inhabitants. Results: During the study period, more than 1.3 billion boxes of psychotropic medications were dispensed. Comparison of psychotropic drug dispensing before and after the pandemic showed a relative increase of 0.76 (95 CI 0.57 to 0.95, p<0.001) boxes per month per thousand inhabitants, all classes of psychotropic drugs combined. Three classes saw their consumption increase in an almost similar proportion, respectively, by 0.23 (0.15 to 0.32, p<0.001) boxes for antidepressants, 0.27 (0.20 to 0.34, p<0.001) boxes for anxiolytics and 0.23 (0.17 to 0.30, p<0.001) boxes for hypnotics. The change in antipsychotic consumption was very small, with an increase of 0.04 boxes (0.02 to 0.06, p = 0.001) per month per thousand population. Conclusion and relevance: The COVID-19 pandemic had led to an increase in the consumption of psychotropic drugs, confirming the significant impact of the pandemic on the mental health of the general population.
KW - COVID-19
KW - mental health
KW - psychotropic drug
KW - anxiety
KW - sleep disorder
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85145284012&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1020023
DO - 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1020023
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85145284012
SN - 1664-0640
VL - 13
JO - Frontiers in Psychiatry
JF - Frontiers in Psychiatry
M1 - 1020023
ER -
