Medicina (Kaunas) 2013; 49 (12): 529-534

Key words: antidepressant; daily drug cost; defined daily dose; selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; traditional Chinese patent medicines.

Summary. Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate the trend of antidepressant use and analyze the daily cost of antidepressants in Wuhan, China.

Material and Methods. The data on the expenditure of antidepressants in Wuhan from 2006 to 2012 were retrospectively analyzed based on the defined daily dose (DDD) method recommended by the World Health Organization. In addition, the daily cost of antidepressants was calculated for the pharmacoeconomic evaluation.

Results. The overall sales of antidepressants increased by 566.7% over the 7-year period. The utilization of antidepressants increased annually from 1.067 DDDs per 1000 inhabitants per day in 2006 to 4.144 in 2012. This upward trend was mainly driven by an increase in the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which accounted for about 60% of antidepressant use. Notably, the use of traditional Chinese patent medicines (TCMs) approved to treat depression in China in 2010 increased from 0.158 DDDs per 1000 inhabitants per day in 2010 to 0.305 in 2012. The daily drug cost analysis indicated that selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and other new antidepressants were more expensive while tricyclic and tetracyclic antidepressants (TCAs) had a low-cost advantage.

Conclusions. Antidepressants were increasingly used over the study period. Among them, SSRIs followed by SNRIs were the most commonly used. After the approval for the treatment of depression, TCMs were generally accepted by physicians and patients. The low-cost advantage allowed TCAs to be used in the antidepressant therapy.

Correspondence to L. Dong, Deptartment of Pharmacy, Tongji Hospital, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, P.R. of China. E-mail: ld2069@outlook.com, gaoping_hk@163.com

Received 2013 November 26, accepted 30 December 2013