A COMMUNITY-BASED CLINIC SURVEY OF ANTIDEPRESSANT USE IN PERSONS WITHSCHIZOPHRENIA

Objective: To determine the rates of antidepressant and antipsychotic use in the treatment of schizophrenia. Method: The primary therapists at 8 community mental health centres in a metropolitan Canadian city c ompleted a survey questionnaire for all of their active clients. Infor mation was collected about diagnoses, medication treatments, and clini cal variables. Results: There were 3555 clients, 1552 (43.7%) of which had a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Of clients with schizophrenia, 94% were prescribed antipsychotic medications, and 11. 6% of these were al so prescribed antidepressant medications. There were differences betwe en the combination-treatment group and the antipsychotic-alone group i n gender ratio, rates of concurrent diagnoses of mood disorder, level of current functioning, and total number of hospitalizations. Conclusi on: In this community-based sample of clients with schizophrenia, anti depressants and antipsychotics are commonly prescribed in combination, even though the rate of concurrent mood disorders diagnoses is low. F urther studies should clarify the efficacy and indications for antidep ressant use in this population.