Work

Fluctuations in dispensed out-patient psychotropic medication prescriptions during the COVID-19 pandemic in The Netherlands

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns had a significant impact on mental well-being and (mental) healthcare systems globally. AIMS: To describe trends and dynamics of out-patient prescribing of psychotropic medications during the COVID-19 pandemic in The Netherlands. METHOD: Dispensed psychotropic medication prescriptions during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 to March 2022 were retrieved from national registry data. Numbers of total and incident dispensed prescriptions and defined daily doses (DDDs) were identified for six medication groups. Overall pandemic-related changes in prescribing trends were analysed using interrupted time-series analyses. Lockdown-related prescribing dynamics were described using monthly risk ratios. RESULTS: = 0.001). Monthly prescribing dynamics showed transient increases in all medication groups during the second and third lockdown periods. There were decreases in dispensed incident antidepressant and opioid addiction medication prescriptions during the first lockdown (average risk ratios: 0.87 and 0.88 respectively), and DDDs of dispensed incident and total attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder medication prescriptions and incident benzodiazepine prescriptions were elevated from the end of the second lockdown (average risk ratios: 1.40, 1.12 and 1.17, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: These findings raise concerns regarding possible over- and under-prescribing during the pandemic. Further understanding of specific factors driving these changes is necessary to help prepare for future mental health(care) challenges.

Source: BJPsych Open

DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2024.867