A comparison of clinical characteristics of older adults treated with antidepressants in general and psychiatric hospitals in Asia

Wang YY 1 , Xiang YT 1 , Ungvari GS 2 , Ng CH 3 , Chiu HFK 4 , Yim LCL 4 Show all authors , Si TM 5 , Chee KY 6 , Avasthi A 7 , Grover S 7 , Chong MY 8 , Sim K 9 , Kanba S 10 , He YL 11 , Lee MS 12 , Yang SY 13 , Udomratn P 14 , Kallivayalil RA 15 , Tanra AJ 16 , Maramis MM 17 , Shen WW 18 , Sartorius N 19 , Mahendran R 20 , Teng JY 20 , Tan CH 21 , Shinfuku N 22

Affiliations 

  • 1 Unit of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau
  • 2 Department of Psychiatry, The University of Notre Dame Australia / Marian Centre, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  • 3 Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  • 4 Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • 5 Department of Psychiatry, The Key Laboratory of Mental Health, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Peking University Institute of Mental Health (The Sixth Hospital), Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China
  • 6 Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Tunku Abdul Rahman Institute of Neurosciences, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 7 Department of Psychiatry, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India
  • 8 Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital-Kaohsiung Medical Center and School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
  • 9 Department of General Psychiatry, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore
  • 10 Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
  • 11 Department of Psychiatric Epidemiology, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China
  • 12 Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea
  • 13 Department of Pharmacy, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
  • 14 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, Thailand
  • 15 Department of Psychiatry, Pushpagiri Institute of Medical Sciences, Thiruvalla, India
  • 16 Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia
  • 17 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dr Soetomo Hospital, Airlangga University, Surabaya, Indonesia
  • 18 Department of Psychiatry, TMU-Wan Fang Medical Center and School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
  • 19 Association for the Improvement of Mental Health Programmes, Geneva, Switzerland
  • 20 Department of General Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
  • 21 Department of Pharmacology, National University of Singapore, Singapore
  • 22 International Center for Medical Research, Kobe University School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan
Psychogeriatrics, 2017 Nov;17(6):348-355.
PMID: 28429844 DOI: 10.1111/psyg.12243

Abstract

AIM: This study compared the demographics, clinical characteristics, and antidepressant prescription patterns between Asian patients aged 50 years and older attending psychiatric hospitals and those attending general hospitals.

METHODS: In total, 955 patients (604 in general hospitals, 351 in psychiatric hospitals) aged 50 years or older treated with antidepressants in 10 Asian countries and territories were examined. Patients' demographics, clinical features, and prescriptions of psychotropic drugs were recorded using a standardized protocol and data collection procedure.

RESULTS: Binary logistic regression revealed that high income and diagnosis of schizophrenia were independently associated with psychiatric hospital treatment, whereas outpatient care, diagnosis of anxiety disorders, and multiple major medical conditions were independently associated with general hospital treatment. In addition, tetracyclic and noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressants were more likely to be prescribed in general hospitals.

CONCLUSION: Older adults treated with antidepressants showed different demographic and clinical features between general hospitals and psychiatric hospitals in Asia.

Study site: multi nation

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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