Antidepressant drug use in primary care: a record linkage study in Tayside, Scotland

Abstract
We studied patient specific dispensed prescribing3 for antidepressant drugs and admissions to hospital for possible adverse effects over 14 months using a record linkage database that covers the population of Tayside, Scotland (about 400 000 subjects).4 The dose and duration of use of antidepressants was determined, as was the number of subjects who had labelled contraindications to and cautions against taking tricyclic antidepressants.