Journal of Psychopharmacology

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

SAGETRACK

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
0269881107079049v1
22/2/153    most recent
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Fujita, A.
Right arrow Articles by Furukawa, T. A.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Fujita, A.
Right arrow Articles by Furukawa, T. A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
This version was published on March 1, 2008
Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 22, No. 2, 153-156 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0269881107079049

Adequacy of continuation and maintenance treatments for major depression in Japan

Akiko Fujita

Department of Psychiatry and Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan, akifujita{at}hcc6.bai.ne.jp

Hideki Azuma

Department of Psychiatry and Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan

Toshinori Kitamura

Department of Clinical Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan

Kiyohisa Takahashi

National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan

Tatsuo Akechi

Department of Psychiatry and Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan

Toshi A. Furukawa

Department of Psychiatry and Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan

Guidelines for treating depression often recommend continuing antidepressants at least for 6 months after remission. Whether this recommendation is implemented in daily practices represents a serious concern. We aimed to examine adequacy of continuation and maintenance treatment in Japan. A naturalistic prospective follow-up study with mood disorders was undertaken in 23 psychiatric departments from all over Japan. A total of 95 patients diagnosed with major depression were followed up every month until treatment termination and every 6 months thereafter. In this study, the cohort received 45.1 (SD = 64.7) mg of imipramine or equivalent per day during continuation phase, and about 74% were prescribed inadequate doses, i.e. less than 75 mg/day. At maintenance phase immediately before relapse, average dosage was 42.0 (SD = 74.7) mg/day and 83% were prescribed inadequate doses. There is gross under-treatment of depression during continuation and maintenance phases in Japan.

Key Words: major depressive disorder • continuation treatment • maintenance treatment


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?