USE AND MISUSE OF ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS IN A RANDOM SAMPLE OF THE POPULATION OF ROME, ITALY

Prescribing patterns of antidepressant drugs were studied, over a peri od of 30 months, in a random sample of 8743 residents of the area of P ome, Italy. Data from the regional outpatient drug monitoring system w ere used. The proportion of subjects receiving, during the study perio d, at least one prescription of antidepressant drugs, was 5.4%; the fe male-to-male ratio was 2.1. Consumption prevalence increased with age. The single most prescribed drug was fluoxetine followed by amitriptyl ine and ademetionine. For a surprisingly high proportion of subjects, the observed length of treatment was shorter than expected on the basi s of current knowledge in clinical pharmacology. Inappropriate diagnos tic and therapeutic procedures are likely explanations.