Depression, Comorbidities, and Prescriptions of Antidepressants in a German Network of GPs and Specialists with Subspecialisation in Anthroposophic Medicine: A Longitudinal Observational Study

Table 3

Sample of patients with depression subdivided according to antidepressants.

	Patients	Antidepressant^1
	𝑁	Any	NSMRI	SSRI	MAOI	Hyp.-perf.	Other^2
		[𝑛 (%)]	[𝑛 (%)]	[𝑛 (%)]	[𝑛 (%)]	[𝑛 (%)]	[𝑛 (%)]
Gender
Male	555	202 (36.4)	53; (9.5)	34; (6.1)	1; (0.2)	124; (22.3)	26; (4.7)
Female	1889	631 (33.4)	182; (9.6)	106; (5.6)	3; (0.2)	415; (22.0)	59; (3.1)
Age [years]
<40	656	182 (27.7)	27; (4.1)	23; (3.5)	—	147; (22.4)	9; (1.4)
40–59	1218	398 (32.7)	109; (8.9)	73; (6.0)	2; (0.2)	260; (21.3)	41; (3.4)
≥60	570	253 (44.4)	99; (17.4)	44; (7.7)	2; (0.4)	132; (23.2)	35; (6.1)
Physician specialization
GP	1793	522 (29.1)	124; (6.9)	83; (4.6)	2; (0.1)	355; (19.8)	44; (2.5)
Internist	437	148 (33.9)	27; (6.2)	26; (5.9)	1; (0.2)	110; (25.2)	6; (1.4)
Neurology	214	163 (76.2)	84; (39.3)	31; (14.5)	1; (0.5)	74; (34.6)	35; (16.4)
Type of depression
Depressive episode	2158	762 (35.3)	219 (10.1)	120; (5.6)	4; (0.2)	497; (23.0)	78; (3.6)
Recurrent depressive disorder	286	71; (24.8)	16; (5.6)	20; (7.0)	—	42; (14.7)	7; (2.4)
Multi-comorbidity
No	2240	737 (32.9)	202; (9.0)	122; (5.4)	3; (0.1)	492; (22.0)	69; (3.1)
Yes	204	96; (47.1)	33; (16.2)	18; (8.8)	1; (0.5)	47; (23.0)	16; (7.8)
Comorbidity
Coronary heart disease	202	84; (41.6)	27; (13.4)	17; (8.4)	1; (0.5)	48; (23.8)	9; (4.5)
Cerebrovascular disease	99	56; (56.6)	27; (27.3)	13; (13.1)	—	23; (23.2)	12; (12.1)
Diabetes mellitus	174	82; (47.1)	23; (13.2)	15; (8.6)	1; (0.6)	46; (26.4)	10; (5.7)
Cancer	351	108 (30.8)	27; (7.7)	17; (4.8)	1; (0.3)	70; (19.9)	12; (3.4)
Congestive heart failure	113	59; (52.2)	22; (19.5)	11; (9.7)	1; (0.9)	30; (26.5)	6; (5.3)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	68	34; (50.0)	11; (16.2)	3; (4.4)	1; (1.5)	19; (27.9)	8; (11.8)
Total	2444	833 (34.1)	235 (9.6)	140 (5.7)	4 (0.2)	539 (22.1)	85 (3.5)

¹Double entries possible, ²including bupropion, mirtazapine, and nefazodone.
MAOIs: non-selective monoamine oxidase A inhibitors.
NSMRI: non-selective monoamine reuptake inhibitors.
SSRIs: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
Others: for example, bupropion, mirtazapine, and nefazodone.