(91) Time Trends in Antidepressant Use Among Women Aged 45-75 in Germany

Friday, August 26, 2022

8:00 AM – 6:00 PM CEST

Location: Hall C

Publication Number: 422

Presenting Author(s)

Wiebke Schaefer, MSc
– Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, Bremen, Germany

Co-Author(s)

Miriam Heinig
– Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Leibniz-Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Ulrike Haug
– Prof. Dr. sc. hum., Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, Bremen, Germany

Background: After the results of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) were published in 2002, use of menopausal hormone therapy saw a sharp decline among women during and after menopause. A recent study from Germany reported that this decline continued at least until 2016. Some antidepressants may be used as alternatives in the treatment of menopausal symptoms. A study from Canada suggested a reciprocal relationship between the number of prescriptions of menopausal hormone therapy and of antidepressants following the WHI study but there are no studies from other countries.

Objectives: To determine prevalence of antidepressant use in women aged 45 to 75 years over time.

Methods: Using the German Pharmacoepidemiological Research Database (GePaRD, ~20% of the German population), we conducted cross-sectional analyses for each year between 2010 and 2018. We determined the number of women aged 45–75 with at least one dispensation of an antidepressant in the respective year. This number was divided by the number of person years accrued by all women aged 45-75 in the respective year. Similarly, we determined age-specific prevalences of antidepressant use for selected ages (45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75).

Results: The overall prevalence of antidepressant use in women aged 45-75 was 153 per 1,000 women years in 2010 and slightly increased to 159 per 1,000 in 2018. In women aged 50 and 60, respectively, the prevalence increased from 129 per 1,000 in 2010 to 133 per 1,000 in 2018 (relative increase: 3%) and from 163 per 1,000 in 2010 to 169 per 1,000 in 2018 (relative increase: 3%), respectively. In women aged 45, 55 and 75 the prevalence of antidepressant use in 2010 was 139 per 1,000, 152 per 1,000 and 183 per 1,000, respectively, and declined to 116 per 1,000 (relative decrease: 17%), 151 per 1,000 (relative decrease: 1%) and 177 per 1,000 (relative decrease: 4%) in 2018.

Conclusions: The prevalence of antidepressant use in Germany between 2010 and 2018 showed an increase in women aged 50 and 60 while it decreased in the younger and older women. Further investigation is needed whether this pattern may partly be explained by using antidepressants as alternative to menopausal hormone therapy, and how the risk-benefit ratio compares between both treatment options.