BACKGROUND Depression and anxiety have increased in prevalence since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the consumption of antidepressants and anxiolytics from 2012 to 2022 and the pandemic's potential impact in France. METHODS We conducted an interrupted time series analysis of routine drug sales data (Medic'AM) from all French outpatient pharmacies from 2012 to 2022. We investigated trends in defined daily doses of antidepressants and anxiolytics sold per 1000 inhabitants (DDD/TID) and related expenditures before and after pandemic onset and in relation with stringency of pandemic mitigation measures. Analyses were performed descriptively and using segmented linear regression, autoregressive and autoregressive integrated moving average models. FINDINGS From 2012 to 2019, overall monthly antidepressant sales increased (+0.02 DDD/TID) while monthly anxiolytic sales decreased (-0.07 DDD/TID). With pandemic onset, there was a relevant and persisting trend increase (+0.20 DDD/TID per month) for antidepressant sales overall, with an estimated excess of 112.6 DDD/TID sold from May 2020 until December 2022. Anxiolytic sales were elevated from February 2020 throughout the pandemic but returned to expected levels by December 2022, with an estimated excess of 33.8 DDD/TID. There was no evident association between stringency and antidepressant or anxiolytic sales. CONCLUSIONS This study showed a protracted trend increase in the consumption of antidepressants since pandemic onset, while increases in anxiolytic consumption were temporary. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS We provide evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic may have had long-lasting consequences on the prevalence and treatment of depression and anxiety disorders, requiring further actions by researchers and policy-makers to address this potential public mental health crisis.

中文翻译：

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2012-2022 年法国抗抑郁药和抗焦虑药处方以及随 COVID-19 大流行的变化：中断时间序列分析。


背景 自 COVID-19 大流行开始以来，抑郁和焦虑的患病率有所增加。目的 评估 2012 年至 2022 年抗抑郁药和抗焦虑药的消费情况以及该流行病对法国的潜在影响。方法 我们对 2012 年至 2022 年所有法国门诊药房的常规药品销售数据 (Medic'AM) 进行了间断时间序列分析。我们调查了每 1000 名居民销售的抗抑郁药和抗焦虑药的规定每日剂量 (DDD/TID) 和相关数据的趋势。疫情爆发前后的支出以及与疫情缓解措施的严格程度相关的支出。使用分段线性回归、自回归和自回归综合移动平均模型进行描述性分析。调查结果 从 2012 年到 2019 年，抗抑郁药物的月度总体销售额有所增加（+0.02 DDD/TID），而抗焦虑药的月度销售额则有所下降（-0.07 DDD/TID）。随着大流行的爆发，抗抑郁药物的整体销售额出现了相关且持续的趋势增长（每月+0.20 DDD/TID），从 2020 年 5 月到 2022 年 12 月，销售额估计超过 112.6 DDD/TID。抗焦虑药物的销售额从 2020 年 2 月开始有所上升整个大流行期间，但到 2022 年 12 月恢复到预期水平，估计超过 33.8 DDD/TID。严格性与抗抑郁药或抗焦虑药的销售之间没有明显的关联。结论 这项研究显示，自大流行爆发以来，抗抑郁药的消费量呈长期增长趋势，而抗焦虑药消费量的增长是暂时的。 临床影响 我们提供的证据表明，COVID-19 大流行可能对抑郁症和焦虑症的患病率和治疗产生长期影响，需要研究人员和政策制定者采取进一步行动来解决这一潜在的公共心理健康危机。