Medical Affairs Reports Findings in Depression (Treatment patterns and healthcare utilization of patients with treatment-resistant depression estimated using health insurance database: A population-based study from Taiwan): Mental Health Diseases and Conditions – Depression

2022 SEP 26 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Business Daily -- New research on Mental Health Diseases and Conditions - Depression is the subject of a report. According to news reporting out of Taipei, Taiwan, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Determining the proportion of patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) among patients with unipolar depression receiving adequate pharmacological treatment (pharmaceutically treated depression [PTD]) is clinically important and may affect health care utilization. In Taiwan, these issues can be assessed by analyzing population-based data.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Medical Affairs, “The present study included data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database from 2010 to 2017. Among patients with depression, PTD was defined by the receipt of at least one adequate antidepressant treatment, and TRD was defined as receiving a third adequate antidepressant treatment after failure to respond to two prior treatments. Time of progression from PTD to TRD was estimated via the Kaplan-Meier function. A propensity-matched case-comparison cohort approach was used to compare resource utilization between patients with non-TRD PTD and TRD. TRD was defined in 11.2 % of patients with unipolar depression and 37.1 % of PTD patients. The time of progression from PTD to TRD was approximately 1 year. Most TRD patients were women, middle-aged, and treated in general practice clinics. Antidepressant monotherapy, followed by antidepressant with augmentation, was the most common treatment strategy applied to TRD patients. Medical utilization was significantly higher in patients with TRD than those with non-TRD PTD across most aspects. TRD was defined based on pharmacological treatment patterns, as the reasons for changes in antidepressant regimens were not available. Approximately one-third of patients with PTD developed TRD, often soon after receiving adequate pharmacological treatment.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Patients with TRD used more medical resources than patients with non-TRD PTD.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Treatment patterns and healthcare utilization of patients with treatment-resistant depression estimated using health insurance database: A population-based study from Taiwan. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2022. Journal of Affective Disorders can be contacted at: Elsevier, Radarweg 29, 1043 Nx Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Journal of Affective Disorders - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-affective-disorders/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Chih-Lin Chiang, Medical Affairs, Janssen Pharmaceutical of Johnson & Johnson, Taipei City 104, Taiwan. Additional authors for this research include Wei-Lieh Huang, Chi-Shin Wu, Shih-Cheng Liao, Tzu-Hsiang Chien, Chiung-Hui Tseng and Chao-Hsiun Tang.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.08.114. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the Journal of Affective Disorders is: Elsevier, Radarweg 29, 1043 Nx Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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