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Background/Aim: The use of antidepressants in children and adolescents has increased steadily, regardless of concerns about effectiveness and safety. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased psychological strain for both children and adolescents. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether antidepressant prescribing patterns changed during the pandemic.

Methods: Based on claims data from a large German statutory health insurance provider, we compared antidepressant prescribing patterns for the years 2018-2022 with a focus on 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2021 (pandemic). The prescribing prevalence for children and adolescents <18 years was determined, stratified by age, sex, drug class and prescriber specialty.

Results: Overall, between 475,750 (2018) and 585,520 (2022) children and adolescents per year were included. The use of antidepressants increased from 2.2 in 2019 to 2.7 per 1,000 children and adolescents in 2021 (+22.7%). The highest prevalence as well as the highest absolute increase were found in females aged 15–17 years (15.0 in 2019 to 19.0 per 1,000 in 2021 (+26.7%)). The prevalence of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor prescribing increased from 1.5 in 2019 to 2.1 per 1,000 children and adolescents in 2021. The share of prescriptions by child and adolescent psychiatrists increased from 49.5% in 2019 to 59.9% in 2021.

Discussion/Conclusion: We found a rise in overall ATD prescribing primarily due to an increase in selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor prescribing in adolescent females. Understanding the potential contribution of pandemic measures is important for evaluating the broader consequences of pandemic policies in future research.

Literatur

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[2] Amill-Rosario A, Lee H, Zhang C, dosReis S. Psychotropic Prescriptions During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among U.S. Children and Adolescents Receiving Mental Health Services. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2022 Sep;32(7):408-14. DOI: 10.1089/cap.2022.0037
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