Antidepressant prescribing in NI: an administrative data linkage study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Prevalence and variation in antidepressant prescribing across Northern Ireland: a longitudinal administrative data linkage study for targeted support.
IRAS ID
225447
Contact name
Mark Shevlin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Ulster University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
ARDC-NI1043, Administrative Data Research Network (ADRN) reference
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, 1 days
Research summary
Antidepressant prescription rates in the United Kingdom (UK) are among the highest in Western Europe and prescription rates in Northern Ireland (NI) are significantly higher than the rest of the UK. The ‘Script Report’ details that between April and September 2103 GPs in NI prescribed enough antidepressants to give every person in NI a 27-day supply; the same statistics for England and Wales were 10 days and 19 days, respectively. While prescription rates are climbing annually, conversely rates of depression are not changing substantially, and evidence suggests that socio-economic and geographical factors may be responsible.
A recent Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation Quality Watch report documented trends in the prescribing of antidepressants in primary care across England. Longitudinal analysis demonstrated that several factors such as unemployment and ethnicity all affected antidepressant prescribing, and that the relative importance of these factors varied geographically. For example, GP practices in areas with better housing prescribed fewer antidepressants.
Despite evidence from England and other Western European countries that socio-economic and geographical factors are linked to increased antidepressant prescribing, no analysis to date has investigated the socio-economic context of antidepressant prescribing in NI. Thus, this project aims to develop comprehensive population-based estimates of the prevalence of antidepressant prescribing, and the variation of estimates within and between geographical areas in NI. Furthermore, the association of personal, and socio-economic factors with antidepressant prescribing will be examined by linking prescribing records (Enhanced Prescribing Database) with data from the 2001/11 Censuses. Subsequently, there will be an analysis of the effect of longitudinal change in these factors by linking data from the 2001 and 2011 Censuses. Meeting these aims with then result in the development of a nationwide map detailing the socio-economic landscape of antidepressant prescribing in NI.
REC name
HSC REC B
REC reference
17/NI/0060
Date of REC Opinion
27 Mar 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion