Half of Antidepressants Prescribed in Quebec Primary Care Are for Nondepressive Indications

Antidepressant prescribing by primary care physicians has grown substantially in recent years, but the frequency with which such prescribing is for nondepressive indications is unclear. To explore this issue, researchers used an electronic medical record and prescribing database in Quebec, Canada, to examine treatment indications for antidepressant prescriptions written by primary care clinicians between 2006 and 2015.

During the study period, about 102,000 antidepressant prescriptions (6% of all prescriptions) were written by 158 physicians for nearly 20,000 adults. About 55% of these prescriptions were indicated for depressive disorders, and about 23% were indicated for anxiety or panic disorders. The rest, about a quarter, were written fo…