Making new choices about antidepressants in Australia: the long view 1975-2002.

Objective: To examine trends in types of antidepressant medications prescribed in Australia between 1975 and 2002.

Design: Sales data from the Australian pharmaceutical industry were used to examine trends in overall antidepressant prescribing and changes in the types of antidepressants prescribed between 1975 and 2002.

Main Outcome Measures: Antidepressant sales were expressed as defined daily doses (DDDs) per 1000 people per day, using the estimated Australian population for each year obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.