Increase in the prescription rate of antidepressants after the Sewol Ferry disaster in Ansan, South Korea

Abstract Background Previous pharmaco-epidemiological studies have reported increases in the prescription of psychotropic medications after a disaster, reflecting post-disaster changes in psychiatric conditions and mental health service utilization. We investigated changes in the prescription of psychotropic medications in the Danwon district of Ansan city (Ansan Danwon) compared to a control community before and after the Sewol Ferry disaster on April 16, 2014. Methods Data was collected from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database. We analyzed the prescription rates of psychotropic medications including antidepressants, anxiolytics, and sedatives/hypnotics, and investigated whether the time-series pattern of monthly prescriptions per 100,000 people was different in Ansan Danwon compared to that in Cheonan city after the Sewol Ferry disaster through difference-in-differences regression analysis. Results Ansan Danwon showed a significantly greater increase (5.6%) in the prescription rate of antidepressants compared to Cheonan city following the Sewol Ferry disaster. There were no significant differences in changes in the prescription rates of anxiolytics or sedatives/hypnotics. In the secondary analysis, a significantly greater increase in the prescription rate of antipsychotics was observed in Ansan Danwon compared to a control community after the disaster. Limitations We could not exclude the possibility that other events influenced changes in the prescription rates of psychotropic medications during the study period. Conclusions Pharmaco-epidemiological studies on psychotropic medication prescription after a disaster provide important information about population-level mental health. Our results suggest that the Sewol Ferry disaster exerted a harmful effect on the mental health status of the affected community.

[1]  Original Investigation.  Effect of Behavioral Interventions on Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescribing Among Primary Care Practices A Randomized Clinical Trial , 2016 .

[2]  E. Hoffman,et al.  Anxiety disorders: a comprehensive review of pharmacotherapies. , 2008, The Mount Sinai journal of medicine, New York.

[3]  S. Galea,et al.  Psychological sequelae of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City. , 2002, The New England journal of medicine.

[4]  C. Bell,et al.  The impact of the Canterbury earthquakes on prescribing for mental health , 2015, The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry.

[5]  Sandro Galea,et al.  Mental health consequences of disasters. , 2014, Annual review of public health.

[6]  P. Bearman,et al.  Medical school gift restriction policies and physician prescribing of newly marketed psychotropic medications: difference-in-differences analysis , 2013, BMJ.

[7]  M. Kessentini,et al.  A Systematic Literature Review , 2016 .

[8]  Daniella Meeker,et al.  Effect of Behavioral Interventions on Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescribing Among Primary Care Practices: A Randomized Clinical Trial. , 2016, JAMA.

[9]  Nickolas M. Jones,et al.  Media Use and Exposure to Graphic Content in the Week Following the Boston Marathon Bombings. , 2016, American journal of community psychology.

[10]  J. Davis-berman,et al.  Psychiatric Medication , 2002 .

[11]  S. Galea,et al.  Alcohol Drinking Problems Among New York City Residents after the September 11 Terrorist Attacks , 2006, Substance use & misuse.

[12]  S. Galea,et al.  Posttraumatic stress disorder in Manhattan, New York City, after the September 11th terrorist attacks , 2002, Journal of Urban Health.

[13]  S. Galea,et al.  Psychiatric Medication Use Among Manhattan Residents Following the World Trade Center Disaster , 2003, Journal of traumatic stress.

[14]  Mi Hee Kim,et al.  Prescribing patterns of the four most commonly used sedatives in endoscopic examination in Korea: propofol, midazolam, diazepam, and lorazepam. , 2015, Regulatory toxicology and pharmacology : RTP.

[15]  Oecd Indicators.  Health at a Glance 2015 , 2015 .

[16]  B. Ham,et al.  Mental health service use in adults with suicidal ideation within a nationally representative sample of the Korean population. , 2016, Journal of affective disorders.

[17]  Diego De Leo,et al.  Natural disasters and suicidal behaviours: a systematic literature review. , 2013, Journal of affective disorders.

[18]  D. Hedeker,et al.  The impact of Medicare Part D on out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs, medication utilization, health resource utilization, and preference-based health utility. , 2011, Health services research.

[19]  S. Math,et al.  A Review of Psychopharmacological Interventions Post-Disaster to Prevent Psychiatric Sequelae. , 2017, Psychopharmacology bulletin.

[20]  Hyekyung Woo,et al.  Public Trauma after the Sewol Ferry Disaster: The Role of Social Media in Understanding the Public Mood , 2015, International journal of environmental research and public health.

[21]  J. Woo,et al.  In-depth investigation for prescribing trends of benzodiazepines in South Korea. , 2014, International journal of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics.

[22]  J. R.,et al.  Quantitative analysis , 1892, Nature.

[23]  T. Heir,et al.  Bereavement and Mental Health after Sudden and Violent Losses: A Review , 2012, Psychiatry.

[24]  D. Mohr,et al.  Major depressive disorder , 2016, Nature Reviews Disease Primers.

[25]  D. Bhugra,et al.  Principles of social psychiatry , 2010 .

[26]  D. Antai-Otong.  Pharmacologic management of posttraumatic stress disorder. , 2007, Perspectives in psychiatric care.

[27]  Bihan Tang,et al.  A meta-analysis of risk factors for depression in adults and children after natural disasters , 2014, BMC Public Health.

[28]  T. E. Tandi,et al.  Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak in South Korea, 2015: epidemiology, characteristics and public health implications , 2016, Journal of Hospital Infection.

[29]  S. Galea,et al.  Population Psychiatric Medication Prescription Rates following a Terrorist Attack , 2007, Prehospital and Disaster Medicine.

[30]  A. Alibrandi,et al.  Effects of L’Aquila earthquake on the prescribing pattern of antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs , 2013, International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy.

[31]  L. Brown,et al.  Rate of Prescription of Antidepressant and Anxiolytic Drugs after Cyclone Yasi in North Queensland , 2012, Prehospital and Disaster Medicine.

[32]  M. Shin,et al.  Community mental health status six months after the Sewol ferry disaster in Ansan, Korea , 2015, Epidemiology and health.

[33]  A. Furnham,et al.  Effect of directness of exposure and trauma type on Mental Health Literacy of PTSD , 2017, Journal of mental health.

[34]  The Sewol Ferry Disaster: Experiences of a Community-Based Hospital in Ansan City , 2016, Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.

[35]  B. Kable.  Mental health. , 2005, Australian family physician.

[36]  Hongtu Chen,et al.  Brief Report: The Emotional Distress in a Community After the Terrorist Attack on the World Trade Center , 2003, Community Mental Health Journal.

[37]  J. Kwon,et al.  Differential Risk of Peptic Ulcer Among Users of Antidepressants Combined With Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs , 2017, Journal of clinical psychopharmacology.

[38]  P. Stratta,et al.  A quantitative analysis of antidepressant and antipsychotic prescriptions following an earthquake in Italy. , 2011, Journal of traumatic stress.