Citation

Kapusta ND, Niederkrotenthaler T, Etzersdorfer E, Voracek M, Dervic K, Jandl-Jager E, Sonneck G. Acta Psychiatr. Scand. 2008; 119(3): 236-242.

Affiliation

Department of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1600-0447.2008.01314.x

PMID

19076117

Abstract

Objective: Antidepressant sales and suicide rates have been shown to be correlated in industrialized countries. The aim was to study the possible effects of psychotherapy utilization on suicide rates. Method: We assessed the impact of antidepressant sales and psychotherapist density on suicide rates between 1991 and 2005. To adjust for serial correlation in time series, three first-order autoregressive models adjusted for per capita alcohol consumption and unemployment rates were employed. Results: Antidepressant sales and the density of psychotherapists in the population were negatively associated with suicide rates. Conclusion: This study provides evidence that decreasing suicide rates were associated with both increasing antidepressant sales and an increasing density of psychotherapists. The decrease of suicide rates could reflect a general improvement in mental health care rather than being caused by antidepressant sales or psychotherapist density alone.

Language: en