Jari Tiihonen1, Antti Tanskanen2, Fabian Hoti3, Pia Vattulainen3, Heidi Taipale4, Juha Mehtälä3, Markku Lähteenvuo5. 1. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Niuvanniemi Hospital, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland. Electronic address: jari.tiihonen@ki.se. 2. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Niuvanniemi Hospital, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; National Institute for Health and Welfare, Impact Assessment Unit, Helsinki, Finland. 3. EPID Research Oy, Espoo, Finland. 4. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Kuopio Research Centre of Geriatric Care, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland. 5. Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Niuvanniemi Hospital, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Little is known about the comparative effectiveness of long-term pharmacological treatments for severe unipolar depression. We aimed to study the effectiveness of pharmacological treatments in relapse prevention in a nationwide cohort of patients who had been admitted to hospital at least once as a result of unipolar depression. METHODS: Our nationwide cohort study investigated the risk of readmission to hospital in 1996-2012 in all patients in Finland who had been admitted to hospital at least once for unipolar depression (without a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder) in Finland between Jan 1, 1987, and Dec 31, 2012. We used nationwide databases to obtain data for hospital admission, mortality, and dispensed medications. Exposure and non-exposure periods for medications were established using the PRE2DUP method. The primary analysis was within-individual analysis of readmission to hospital in the total cohort, in which each individual was used as his or her own control to eliminate selection bias. Putative survival and protopathic biases were controlled in sensitivity analyses. Since 33 independent statistical comparisons were done for specific medications, the level of statistical significance was set at p<0·0015. FINDINGS: Data from 123 712 patients were included in the total cohort, with a mean follow-up time of 7·9 years (SD 5·3). Lithium use was associated with a lower risk of re-admission to hospital for mental illness than was no lithium use (hazard ratio [HR] 0·47 [95% CI 0·40-0·55]; p<0·0001), whereas the groups of antidepressants (HR 1·10 [1·06-1·13]; p<0·0001) and antipsychotics (HR 1·16 [1·12-1·20]; p<0·0001) were not associated with a reduced risk of readmission to hospital. Risk of hospital readmission was lower during lithium therapy alone (HR 0·31 [0·21-0·47]; p<0·0001) than during use of lithium with antidepressants (HR 0·50 [0·43-0·59]; p<0·0001). After lithium, clozapine (HR 0·65 [0·46-0·90]; p=0·010) and amitriptyline (HR 0·75 [0·70-0·81]; p<0·0001) were the specific agents associated with the next lowest risk of readmission. In the sensitivity analyses controlling for survival and protopathic biases, all drugs were associated with lower rates of readmission to hospital than they were in the primary analysis, showing the same rank order in comparative effectiveness. The lowest mortality was observed during antidepressant use (HR 0·56 [0·54-0·58]; p<0·0001). INTERPRETATION: Our results indicate that lithium, especially without concomitant antidepressant use, is the pharmacological treatment associated with the lowest risk of hospital readmission for mental illness in patients with severe unipolar depression, and the outcomes for this measure related to antidepressants and antipsychotics are poorer than lithium. Lithium treatment should be considered for a wider population of severely depressed patients than those currently considered, taking into account its potential risks and side-effects. FUNDING: The Finnish Ministry of Health.
BACKGROUND: Little is known about the comparative effectiveness of long-term pharmacological treatments for severe unipolar depression. We aimed to study the effectiveness of pharmacological treatments in relapse prevention in a nationwide cohort of patients who had been admitted to hospital at least once as a result of unipolar depression. METHODS: Our nationwide cohort study investigated the risk of readmission to hospital in 1996-2012 in all patients in Finland who had been admitted to hospital at least once for unipolar depression (without a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder) in Finland between Jan 1, 1987, and Dec 31, 2012. We used nationwide databases to obtain data for hospital admission, mortality, and dispensed medications. Exposure and non-exposure periods for medications were established using the PRE2DUP method. The primary analysis was within-individual analysis of readmission to hospital in the total cohort, in which each individual was used as his or her own control to eliminate selection bias. Putative survival and protopathic biases were controlled in sensitivity analyses. Since 33 independent statistical comparisons were done for specific medications, the level of statistical significance was set at p<0·0015. FINDINGS: Data from 123 712 patients were included in the total cohort, with a mean follow-up time of 7·9 years (SD 5·3). Lithium use was associated with a lower risk of re-admission to hospital for mental illness than was no lithium use (hazard ratio [HR] 0·47 [95% CI 0·40-0·55]; p<0·0001), whereas the groups of antidepressants (HR 1·10 [1·06-1·13]; p<0·0001) and antipsychotics (HR 1·16 [1·12-1·20]; p<0·0001) were not associated with a reduced risk of readmission to hospital. Risk of hospital readmission was lower during lithium therapy alone (HR 0·31 [0·21-0·47]; p<0·0001) than during use of lithium with antidepressants (HR 0·50 [0·43-0·59]; p<0·0001). After lithium, clozapine (HR 0·65 [0·46-0·90]; p=0·010) and amitriptyline (HR 0·75 [0·70-0·81]; p<0·0001) were the specific agents associated with the next lowest risk of readmission. In the sensitivity analyses controlling for survival and protopathic biases, all drugs were associated with lower rates of readmission to hospital than they were in the primary analysis, showing the same rank order in comparative effectiveness. The lowest mortality was observed during antidepressant use (HR 0·56 [0·54-0·58]; p<0·0001). INTERPRETATION: Our results indicate that lithium, especially without concomitant antidepressant use, is the pharmacological treatment associated with the lowest risk of hospital readmission for mental illness in patients with severe unipolar depression, and the outcomes for this measure related to antidepressants and antipsychotics are poorer than lithium. Lithium treatment should be considered for a wider population of severely depressedpatients than those currently considered, taking into account its potential risks and side-effects. FUNDING: The Finnish Ministry of Health.
Authors: Markku Lähteenvuo; Antti Tanskanen; Heidi Taipale; Fabian Hoti; Pia Vattulainen; Eduard Vieta; Jari Tiihonen Journal: JAMA Psychiatry Date: 2018-04-01 Impact factor: 21.596
Authors: Leonardo Tondo; Martin Alda; Michael Bauer; Veerle Bergink; Paul Grof; Tomas Hajek; Ute Lewitka; Rasmus W Licht; Mirko Manchia; Bruno Müller-Oerlinghausen; René E Nielsen; Marylou Selo; Christian Simhandl; Ross J Baldessarini Journal: Int J Bipolar Disord Date: 2019-07-22
Authors: Azmeraw T Amare; Klaus Oliver Schubert; Liping Hou; Scott R Clark; Sergi Papiol; Micah Cearns; Urs Heilbronner; Franziska Degenhardt; Fasil Tekola-Ayele; Yi-Hsiang Hsu; Tatyana Shekhtman; Mazda Adli; Nirmala Akula; Kazufumi Akiyama; Raffaella Ardau; Bárbara Arias; Jean-Michel Aubry; Lena Backlund; Abesh Kumar Bhattacharjee; Frank Bellivier; Antonio Benabarre; Susanne Bengesser; Joanna M Biernacka; Armin Birner; Clara Brichant-Petitjean; Pablo Cervantes; Hsi-Chung Chen; Caterina Chillotti; Sven Cichon; Cristiana Cruceanu; Piotr M Czerski; Nina Dalkner; Alexandre Dayer; Maria Del Zompo; J Raymond DePaulo; Bruno Étain; Stephane Jamain; Peter Falkai; Andreas J Forstner; Louise Frisen; Mark A Frye; Janice M Fullerton; Sébastien Gard; Julie S Garnham; Fernando S Goes; Maria Grigoroiu-Serbanescu; Paul Grof; Ryota Hashimoto; Joanna Hauser; Stefan Herms; Per Hoffmann; Andrea Hofmann; Esther Jiménez; Jean-Pierre Kahn; Layla Kassem; Po-Hsiu Kuo; Tadafumi Kato; John R Kelsoe; Sarah Kittel-Schneider; Sebastian Kliwicki; Barbara König; Ichiro Kusumi; Gonzalo Laje; Mikael Landén; Catharina Lavebratt; Marion Leboyer; Susan G Leckband; Alfonso Tortorella; Mirko Manchia; Lina Martinsson; Michael J McCarthy; Susan L McElroy; Francesc Colom; Marina Mitjans; Francis M Mondimore; Palmiero Monteleone; Caroline M Nievergelt; Markus M Nöthen; Tomas Novák; Claire O'Donovan; Norio Ozaki; Urban Ösby; Andrea Pfennig; James B Potash; Andreas Reif; Eva Reininghaus; Guy A Rouleau; Janusz K Rybakowski; Martin Schalling; Peter R Schofield; Barbara W Schweizer; Giovanni Severino; Paul D Shilling; Katzutaka Shimoda; Christian Simhandl; Claire M Slaney; Alessio Squassina; Thomas Stamm; Pavla Stopkova; Mario Maj; Gustavo Turecki; Eduard Vieta; Julia Veeh; Stephanie H Witt; Adam Wright; Peter P Zandi; Philip B Mitchell; Michael Bauer; Martin Alda; Marcella Rietschel; Francis J McMahon; Thomas G Schulze; Bernhard T Baune Journal: Mol Psychiatry Date: 2020-03-16 Impact factor: 13.437