Antidepressant use and learning disability

Analysis of the records of 221 adults attending the Welsh Centre for Learning Disability in Cardiff identified 241 episodes of treatment with an antidepressant within the past five years (The Psychiatrist 2010;34:123‐6).

Antidepressants were prescribed for depression in 61 per cent of cases, for generalised anxiety disorder in 10 per cent and obsessive‐compulsive disorder in 10 per cent. SSRIs accounted for over three‐quarters of agents prescribed, with citalopram the most popular (43 per cent). Other antidepressants were mirtazapine (8 per cent), trazodone (6 per cent), serotonin‐noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) (4 per cent) and tricyclic antidepressants (5 per cent). In almost 80 per cent of episodes, antidepressants were coprescribed with antipsychotics, antiepileptic drugs, benzodiazepines, mood stabilisers or proton pump inhibitors.

Treatment continuation rates at six weeks and six and 12 months were 90, 77 and 66 per cent; clinical improvement occurred in about half of patients at each time point. One‐third of discontinuations were due to switching to another antidepressant. Only 29 episodes of adverse effects were recorded. Copyright © 2010 Wiley Interface Ltd