Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-v2bm5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-04T09:07:45.990Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns on the consumption of anxiolytics, hypnotics and antidepressants according to age groups: a French nationwide study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2021

M. Levaillant Open the ORCID record for M. Levaillant [Opens in a new window] ,
M. Wathelet ,
A. Lamer ,
E. Riquin ,
B. Gohier  and
J.-F. Hamel-Broza
M. Levaillant*
Affiliation:
University of Lille, CHU Lille, ULR 2694 – METRICS: Évaluation des technologies de santé et des pratiques médicales, F-59000 Lille, France Department of Methodology and Biostatistics, CHU Angers, 4 rue Larrey, 49933 Angers, France
M. Wathelet
Affiliation:
University of Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, U1172 – LilNCog – Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, F-59000 Lille, France Centre National de Ressources et de Résilience Lille-Paris (CN2R), F-59000 Lille, France Fédération de Recherche en Psychiatrie et Santé Mentale des Hauts-de-France, F-59000 Lille, France
A. Lamer
Affiliation:
University of Lille, CHU Lille, ULR 2694 – METRICS: Évaluation des technologies de santé et des pratiques médicales, F-59000 Lille, France
E. Riquin
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital of Angers, Angers, France Mitovasc Unit, UMR CNRS 6015-INSERM, 1083 Angers, France Laboratory of Psychology, LPPL EA4638, University of Angers, Angers, France
B. Gohier
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Angers University Hospital, Angers, France UPRES EA 4638, University of Angers, Angers, France
J.-F. Hamel-Broza
Affiliation:
Department of Methodology and Biostatistics, CHU Angers, 4 rue Larrey, 49933 Angers, France Inserm, U1085, Irset, équipe ESTER, université d'Angers, faculté de santé, Angers, France
*
Author for correspondence: M. Levaillant, E-mail: mathieu.levaillant@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

Previous studies have shown a negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated sanitary measures on mental health, especially among adolescents and young adults. Such a context may raise many concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic long-term psychological effects. An analysis of administrative databases could be an alternative and complementary approach to medical interview-based epidemiological surveys to monitor the mental health of the population. We conducted a nationwide study to describe the consumption of anxiolytics, antidepressants and hypnotics during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to the five previous years.

Methods

A historic cohort study was conducted by extracting and analysing data from the French health insurance database between 1 January 2015 and 28 February 2021. Individuals were classified into five age-based classes. Linear regression models were performed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic period on the number of drug consumers, in introducing an interaction term between time and COVID-19 period.

Results

Since March 2020, in all five age groups and all three drug categories studied, the number of patients reimbursed weekly has increased compared to the period from January 2015 to February 2020. The youngest the patients, the more pronounced the magnitude.

Conclusions

Monitoring the consumption of psychiatric medications could be of great interest as reliable indicators are essential for planning public health strategies. A post-crisis policy including reliable monitoring of mental health must be anticipated.

Keywords

COVID-19mental healthpharmacoepidemiologypsychiatrypsychotropic drugs
Type
Original Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 53 , Issue 7 , May 2023 , pp. 2861 - 2867
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aknin, L., Neve, J.-E. D., Dunn, E., Fancourt, D., Goldberg, E., Helliwell, J., … Amour, Y. B. (2021). Mental health during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic: a review and recommendations for moving forward. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/zw93g.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alonso, J., Angermeyer, M. C., Bernert, S., Bruffaerts, R., Brugha, T. S., Bryson, H., … Vollebergh, W. A. M. (2004). Psychotropic drug utilization in Europe: Results from the European Study of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders (ESEMeD) project. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, Supplement, 109(420), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0047.2004.00331.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Avenevoli, S., Swendsen, J., He, J. P., Burstein, M., & Merikangas, K. R. (2015). Major depression in the national comorbidity survey – adolescent supplement: Prevalence, correlates, and treatment. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 54(1), 37–44.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2014.10.010.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bezin, J., Duong, M., Lassalle, R., Droz, C., Pariente, A., Blin, P., & Moore, N. (2017). The national healthcare system claims databases in France, SNIIRAM and EGB: Powerful tools for pharmacoepidemiology. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, 26(8), 954–962. https://doi.org/10.1002/pds.4233.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., & Rubin, G. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet, 395, 912–920. Lancet Publishing Group. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Canadian Mental Health Association. (2021). Mental health impacts of Covid-19: Wave 2.Google Scholar
Fiest, K. M., Jette, N., Quan, H., St Germaine-Smith, C., Metcalfe, A., Patten, S. B., & Beck, C. A. (2014). Systematic review and assessment of validated case definitions for depression in administrative data. BMC Psychiatry, 14(1), 289. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-014-0289-5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Filipovic-Pierucci, A., Samson, S., Fagot, J. P., & Fagot-Campagna, A. (2017). Estimating the prevalence of depression associated with healthcare use in France using administrative databases. BMC Psychiatry, 17(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-016-1163-4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
IFOP. (2020). Les Français et le suicide.Google Scholar
Lu, P., Li, X., Lu, L., & Zhang, Y. (2020). The psychological states of people after Wuhan eased the lockdown. PLoS ONE, 15(11), e0241173. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241173.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Merikangas, K. R., He, J. P., Burstein, M., Swanson, S. A., Avenevoli, S., Cui, L., … Swendsen, J. (2010). Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in U.S. adolescents: Results from the national comorbidity survey replication-adolescent supplement (NCS-A). Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(10), 980–989. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2010.05.017.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mohler-kuo, M., Dzemaili, S., Foster, S., Werlen, L., & Walitza, S. (2021). Stress and mental health among children/adolescents, their parents, and young adults during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Switzerland. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(9), 4668. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094668.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moulis, G., Lapeyre-Mestre, M., Palmaro, A., Pugnet, G., Montastruc, J. L., & Sailler, L. (2015). French health insurance databases: What interest for medical research? Revue de Medecine Interne, 36, 411–417. Elsevier Masson SAS. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revmed.2014.11.009.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nearchou, F., Hennessy, E., Flinn, C., Niland, R., & Subramaniam, S. S. (2020). Exploring the impact of covid-19 on mental health outcomes in children and adolescents: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17, 1–19. MDPI AG. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228479.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nicola, M., Alsafi, Z., Sohrabi, C., Kerwan, A., Al-Jabir, A., Iosifidis, C., … Agha, R. (2020). The socio-economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19): A review. International Journal of Surgery, 78, 185–193. Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2020.04.018.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Observatoire National du Suicide. (2018). Suicide: Enjeux éthiques de la prévention, singularités du suicide à l'adolescence.Google Scholar
Ramiz, L., Contrand, B., Rojas Castro, M. Y., Dupuy, M., Lu, L., Sztal-Kutas, C., … Lagarde, E. (2021). A longitudinal study of mental health before and during COVID-19 lockdown in the French population. Globalization and Health, 17, 29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-021-00682-8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reneflot, A., Kaspersen, S. L., Hauge, L. J., & Kalseth, J. (2019). Use of prescription medication prior to suicide in Norway. BMC Health Services Research, 19(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-4009-1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taylor, M. R., Agho, K. E., Stevens, G. J., & Raphael, B. (2008). Factors influencing psychological distress during a disease epidemic: Data from Australia's first outbreak of equine influenza. BMC Public Health, 8(1), 347. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-8-347.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Townsend, L., Walkup, J. T., Crystal, S., & Olfson, M. (2012). A systematic review of validated methods for identifying depression using administrative data. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, 21(Suppl. 1), 163–173. https://doi.org/10.1002/pds.2310.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Varga, T. V., Bu, F., Dissing, A. S., Elsenburg, L. K., Bustamante, J. J. H., Matta, J., … Rod, N. H. (2021). Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of 200000 Western and Northern Europeans. The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, 2, 100020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2020.100020.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, C., Pan, R., Wan, X., Tan, Y., Xu, L., Ho, C. S., … Ho, R. C. (2020). Immediate psychological responses and associated factors during the initial stage of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic among the general population in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17051729.Google ScholarPubMed
Wathelet, M., Duhem, S., Vaiva, G., Baubet, T., Habran, E., Veerapa, E., … D'Hondt, F. (2020). Factors associated with mental health disorders among university students in France confined during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA Network Open, 3(10), e2025591. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.25591.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weill, A., Drouin, J., Desplas, D., Cuenot, F., Dray-Spira, R., & Zureik, M. (2020). Usage des médicaments de ville en France durant l’épidémie de la Covid-19 – point de situation jusqu'au 13 septembre 2020.Google Scholar
WHO. (2014). Données et statistiques sur le suicide.Google Scholar
WHOCC. (2021). Guidelines for ATC classification and DDD assignment 2021.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Levaillant et al. supplementary material

Table S1

Download Levaillant et al. supplementary material(File)
File 12.3 KB