Antidepressant Use in UK, Germany, France 1998-2002

Abstract

"The aim of this paper is to compare the evolution of antidepressant consumption in France, Germany
and the United Kingdom between 1998 and 2002. Commercial databases (IMS Health) have been
used in conjunction with administrative data (PACT for the UK, GKV for Germany and Afssaps for
France) to estimate antidepressant consumption in Daily Defined Doses. The main results are: (1)
Antidepressant consumption has increased significantly over the last decade in France (x2), Germany
(x2.4) and the UK (x3.8); (2) SSRIs are the most heavily consumed drugs in France (67%) and the UK
(60%); (3) Germany is distinguished by an overall level of antidepressant consumption twice as low as
the other two countries and a relatively low use of SSRI antidepressants (31%), in favour of TCAs. In
conclusion, the combined use of administrative and commercial data is possible for an evaluation of
the volume of consumption. This study sheds both medical and economic light on the differences in
both the level and structure of consumption in these three countries.

Keywords: antidepressant consumption, SSRI, France, UK, Germany
Codes JEL: I11 et L65"



Study released February 2009 Pdf here