Determinants of follow-up care associated with incident antidepressant use in older adults

OBJECTIVES: To determine the proportion of older adults receiving guideline concordant antidepressant therapy and to determine patient, prescriber and organizational factors associated with adequate antidepressant therapy. METHODS: The study included secondary analyses of data collected in the Étude sur la Santé des Aînés (ESA) Services study on older adults recruited while consulting in primary care clinics in one of the largest health regions of the province of Québec. Antidepressant users (n = 349) were identified from information collected from the Régie de l’Assurance Maladie du Québec (RAMQ) pharmaceutical database which holds information on all drugs dispensed to all residents covered under the public drug plan. Adequacy of antidepressant treatment was measured using three criteria: adequacy of daily dose; length of prescription (≥455 days); and ≥3 visits to the antidepressant-prescribing physician in the first 3 months after initiation of therapy. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to study antidepressant treatment adequacy as a function of individual, provider and healthcare system factors. RESULTS: Among the antidepressant users, 44% received an adequate antidepressant treatment filling all three criteria. None of the factors studied were associated with the probability of receiving adequate treatment filling all three criteria. Psychological distress was associated with having an adequate number of visits in the 3 months following initiation. Males and those living in a metropolitan and urban area were less likely to receive an adequate dose. CONCLUSIONS: Future research should consider factors associated with perceived effectiveness and patient treatment preferences that may explain receipt of adequate antidepressant treatment in older adults.