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Prevalence and patterns of antidepressant drug use during pregnancy

  • Pharmacoepidemiology and Prescription
  • Published:
European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study was to determine the extent and patterns of antidepressant use before, during and after pregnancy in a large population in The Netherlands.

Methods

Health care records and prescription data from one of the largest Dutch health insurance companies were analysed. The study cohort consisted of 29,005 women who had live births in the period between January 2000 and July 2003. Antidepressant drug use during a specified period was defined as there being a record of a prescription during that period.

Results

During the first trimester of pregnancy 2% of all pregnant women of the study cohort were found to have taken antidepressants; in the second and third trimesters, this figure had dropped to 1.8% of all pregnancies. Antidepressant use before as well as during pregnancy was almost twofold higher in women over 35 years of age than in those under 35 years. Almost 60% of the women who used antidepressants before pregnancy stopped taking them in the first trimester, and a smaller number stopped thereafter. Of all women using antidepressants during pregnancy, one third started this medication during gestation. In the 3 months following delivery, the prevalence of antidepressant use was the same as before pregnancy (2.9%). There was no shift to benzodiazepines in the group of women who stopped taking antidepressants during pregnancy. Although paroxetine and fluoxetine were the most frequently used antidepressants among the study group, all modern antidepressants were used.

Conclusion

A considerable number of women are being exposed to antidepressants throughout pregnancy up until delivery. One consequence of this is that their newborns need special care and supervision during the first days of life. However, women who stop taking the medication may risk a relapse of their illness, and this may also have a negative effect on the child.

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Acknowledgement

We are grateful to the VGZ Health Insurance Company for providing the health care and medication records we used in our study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Tessa Ververs & Fred Schobben

  2. VGZ Health Insurance Company, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Hans Kaasenbrood

  3. Department of Perinatology and Gynaecology, University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Gerard Visser

  4. Department of Social Pharmacy, Pharmacotherapy and Pharmacoepidemology, Groningen University Institute for Drug Exploration (Guide), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Lolkje de Jong-van den Berg

  5. Department of Pharmacoepidemology and Pharmacotherapy, Utretcht Institute for Pharmaceutical Science (UIPS), P.O. Box 80082, 3508 TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Toine Egberts

Authors
  1. Tessa Ververs
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  2. Hans Kaasenbrood
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  3. Gerard Visser
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  4. Fred Schobben
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  5. Lolkje de Jong-van den Berg
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  6. Toine Egberts
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Toine Egberts.

Additional information

Mr. H. Kaasenbrood died on October 14, 2005.

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Ververs, T., Kaasenbrood, H., Visser, G. et al. Prevalence and patterns of antidepressant drug use during pregnancy. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 62, 863–870 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-006-0177-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-006-0177-0

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