Trends in sales of antidepressants in Brazil from 2014 to 2020: A time trend analysis with joinpoint regression

Background: This study aimed to investigate the trends in antidepressants sales in Brazil. Methods: We performed a joinpoint analysis of antidepressants sales in Brazil from 2014 to 2020, recorded in the Brazilian National Controlled Products Management System. The primary outcomes were the defined daily dose per 1000 inhabitants per day (DID) and the market shares for each antidepressant per year. We used joinpoint regression to assess the changes in antidepressant consumption in DID to obtain the average annual percent change (AAPC) and 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI). Changes in market shares were tested by chi-square trend test (p < 0.05 as significant). Results: From 2014 to 2020, 42,252,989 antidepressant sales were recorded in the system. Antidepressant sales increased from 13.7 to 33.6 DID in the period (AAPC: 15.7; 95 % CI: 13.0-18.4; p < 0.001); the largest increases were observed for serotonin reuptake inhibitors and 'other' antidepressants (including serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors), whereas tricyclics remained steady. Escitalopram and sertraline were the most sold drugs. Market share of serotonin reuptake inhibitors decreased, particularly for paroxetine (13.1 % to 6.5 %; p = 0.016), while 'other' antidepressants' market share expanded from 21.9 % to 33.3 % (p = 0.027), especially for desvenlafaxine (2.9 % to 14.3 %; p < 0.001). Limitations: The dataset does not include antidepressants dispensed in hospitals, public services, and compounding pharmacies, neither their therapeutic indications. Conclusion: Sales of antidepressants significantly increased in Brazil from 2014 to 2020, which were mainly driven by higher prescriptions of serotonin reuptake inhibitors and `other' antidepressants classes. Market share changes seem to be driven by novelty of products.

Automated summary

This study investigated the trends in antidepressant sales in Brazil from 2014 to 2020. The results showed a significant increase in antidepressant sales, mainly driven by higher prescriptions of serotonin reuptake inhibitors and other antidepressant classes.