Antidepressant use and resource utilization in the general practitioner setting in The Netherlands.

Objective: To assess antidepressant use and resource utilization in the general practitioner (GP) setting in the Netherlands following initiation of antidepressant therapy.

Design: Longitudinal study in a retrospective database.

Participants: Sample of 869 patients from a new database in the Netherlands who initiated therapy on a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) or a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA).

Main Outcome Measures: Mean length of antidepressant therapy within the first 90 days and resource utilization in the GP setting in the first 180 days following therapy initiation.

Results: (1) patients who initiated therapy on an SSRI were younger (48.6 years old versus 54.1 years old, p<0.01) and more likely to have a depression diagnosis (58% versus 30%, p<0.01) than patients who initiated therapy on a TCA; (2) patients who initiated therapy on an SSRI were more likely than patients who initiated therapy on a TCA (65% versus 52%, p<0.01) to have more than 30 days of therapy within the first 90 days and to receive antidepressant doses consistent with Dutch guidelines; (3) patients with greater than 30 days of antidepressant therapy within the first 90 days had more general practitioner visits than patients with 30 days of therapy or less (TCA patients: 9.6 versus 7.0; SSRI patients: 8.8 versus 6.9, p<0.01).

Conclusions: Patients in the GP setting in the Netherlands who initiate therapy on SSRIs are more likely than patients who initiate therapy on TCAs to receive recommended doses and duration of therapy consistent with Dutch antidepressant treatment guidelines.