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

Money Talks: The Movie

A sequel to the wonderful Pharma expose' SIDE EFFECTS.



SYNOPSIS
"If we want it to be different, we have to insist on it."
Jerome Hoffman MD, UCLA Medical School

This 50-minute documentary was created to give an in-depth, academic perspective on the questionable marketing tactics of the pharmaceutical industry, and features the commentary of investigative journalists and medical professionals including Dr. John Abramson, author of Overdosed America, and Prescription Access Litigation Project Director, Alex Sugerman-Brozan. Other notable interviewees include Dr. Bob Goodman of Columbia University, founder of the ‘No Free Lunch’ program, and Dr. Jerome Hoffman of UCLA Medical School.

Engaging and informative, the film offers a reasoned approach to the subject matter and is a terrific way to stimulate discussion about the ethical implications of pharmaceutical promotion. Filmmaker Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau has received both national and international press coverage, including The Atlantic Monthly, British Medical Journal, CNN, The New York Times, Psychology Today, USA Today and The Economist.

Notable Comments

"Money Talks presents a wealth of unsettling information and forward-looking ideas about one of the most urgent issues facing our country today. This film should be required viewing for anyone concerned about the complexities and failings of the American health care system." -Meghann Matwichuk, University of Delaware, Media Librarian/Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults Committee Member

"Money Talks filled the gaps... things are far worse than I suspected" -Evelyn Hampton, UTNE

"Money Talks exposes shady drug industry practices... it is
important for anyone who wants to understand how
corporations are controlling their health."
-Heather Gehlert, AlterNet

"I recommend the documentary film Money Talks: Profits Before Patient Safety" -Christine Northrup M.D.

"A chilling documentary" -Marilynn Larkin, The Lancet

“Viewers of Slattery-Moschkau’s work will be forever changed in their perception of the pharmaceutical industry." -Bradley Lewis, M.D. Ph.D., NYU

“This documentary should be required viewing in all health care educational programs.” -David A. Apgar, R.Ph.

“The facts uncovered in this film shocked even me--and I've been a 'prevention-first' doc all along.”
-Malynn Utzinger, MD

"I can’t imagine a more compelling way to drive home the idea that we all need to be proactive about the medications we are taking and giving to our children... simply riveting.” -Dr. Dominick Riccio, chairman of the Just Say “Know” to Prescription Drugs Campaign


Why we made Money Talks: Profits Before Patient Safety

Money Talks was created to address the outstanding audience questions raised by Side Effects, Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau’s first film about issues involving the pharmaceutical industry.

The production team turned the camera on the experts with the goal of creating informative bonus material for the Side Effects DVD. Once the filmmakers reviewed the compelling interview footage, they realized that the material deserved its own project. The result is this engaging and straight shooting documentary that holds a mirror up to the pharmaceutical industry’s marketing tactics, exposing how their pervasive influence ultimately compromises healthcare. It is our hope that Money Talks will help people make educated choices about their own health and about the future of medicine in the U.S.


Link

AstraZeneca: "Lisa has done a great smoke-and-mirrors job"

AstraZeneca “buried” unfavorable studies of its $4.4 billion blockbuster psychiatric drug Seroquel, according to internal documents released Friday in a legal dispute between the company and lawyers for thousands of people who sued the company because they said the drug caused diabetes and weight gain.
In one of the documents, a 1997 e-mail message, Richard Lawrence, an AstraZeneca official, praised Lisa Arventis, the company’s Seroquel project physician at the time, for minimizing adverse findings in a “cursed” study. He wrote: “Lisa has done a great ‘smoke-and-mirrors job!’ ”
Lawyers suing AstraZeneca, a British drug maker whose United States headquarters are in Delaware, said the documents show it tried to hide the diabetes link for nearly a decade.
“AstraZeneca knew about the risk of weight gain and diabetes in 2000 and not only failed to warn physicians and patients but marketed in a way that represented there was no risk,” Edward F. Blizzard, a Houston-based lead lawyer on the cases, said in a conference call with reporters.

Read more about the Seroquel scandal at the New York Times. For the best investigative journalism anywhere on this, go see what Philip Dawdy has to say at Furious Seasons.

ADHD drugs make children hallucinate

Image from this article
Article here.

"House" shilling for NAMI

This is so wrong on so many levels....
~ NAMI is confusing reality with television. "House" is not a doctor, he just plays one on TV.
~ "House" is strongly individualistic; NAMI members are generally conformists.
~ If real NAMI members met a doctor as curmudgeonly as "House" - and a drug addict to boot - they would certainly not become allies.
Beyond boycotting the HOUSE tv actor, ignoring this silly campaign, or remembering "everybody lies", there is another possible response...

Get it here.



MINDFREEDOM's old files, NAMI WATCH, are archived here.

Need, not Greed: Canadian Federation of Nurses Calls for Pharmacare

From the Canadian Federation of Nurses' Statement:

Drugs now rank second after hospitals in terms of share of total health care spending,
having overtaken spending on physicians in 1997. The share of total spending going to
drugs rose from 9.5 percent in 1985 to 16.2 percent in 2002. Spending on drugs is expected
to hit 16.7 percent of total health care spending in 2004, while spending on physicians will
be just 12.9 percent.3

The rapid rise in drug costs is primarily due to the ongoing substitution of newer, more
expensive drugs in place of existing, less expensive products. The newer drugs, in the
majority of cases, have no added benefit. Of the 117 drugs with new ingredients introduced
in Canada between 1998 and 2002, only 15 provided a substantial improvement over
existing drugs.4 The rest are “me-too” drugs that offer little or no therapeutic advances over
existing therapies but are responsible for 80 percent of the increased expenditure on drugs.5

Aggressive advertising by drug companies drives consumption of these me-too drugs.6
Apart from advertising directly to consumers, drug companies spend approximately
$30,000 per year for every doctor in Canada on drug samples, sales rep contact,
conferences, trips and giveaways.7 The influence of pharmaceutical companies on research,
education and clinical practice has also been widely documented.8 Both patients and
doctors are influenced by the onslaught,9 with the result that drug costs are skyrocketing
but health outcomes are not necessarily improving.

Pdf here

Bipolar Disorder Caused by Antidepressants

In an essay appearing March 17 in The Lancet, Franco Benazzi, MD, PhD, writes about a common but poorly recognized form of bipolar disorder, called bipolar disorder II.
Because the disorder is so often misdiagnosed, patients are often wrongly treated with antidepressants alone, which can make the problem worse, the professor of psychiatry tells WebMD.

"These patients need to be on mood-stabilizing drugs, and if depression persists an antidepressant can be added," Benazzi says. "Treating these patients with antidepressants alone can actually increase the manic episodes and worsen the disorder."

Bipolar II caused by antidepressants

And more evidence from Am J Psychiatry 166:2, February 2009.
Pdf
Thanks to Philip Dawdy of Furious Seasons for releasing this information.