Abstract
BACKGROUND:
The personality variables optimism and pessimism are potential risk factors for disorders commonly treated with antidepressants.
AIMS:
To evaluate optimism and pessimism as predictors of initiating and ending an antidepressant treatment.
METHODS:
Data consisted of 29,930 public sector employees with no record of diagnosed depression. Optimism and pessimism were measured using the Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R) at baseline. The data of purchases of antidepressants were from the national Drug Prescription Register.
RESULTS:
During the mean follow-up of 4.4 years, 1681 participants initiated and of them 1288 ended an antidepressant treatment lasting at least 100 days. In the adjusted model, high optimism was associated with a lower likelihood of starting antidepressant medication treatment (hazard ratios, HR, 0.67, 95% CI 0.62-0.73) and a higher likelihood of stopping the treatment (HR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.08-1.30). High pessimism was associated with a higher likelihood of starting antidepressant medication treatment (HR = 1.27, 95% CI 1.16-1.38) and a lower likelihood of stopping it (HR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.80-0.98). These associations remained after optimism score was adjusted for pessimism and vice versa or those with symptoms of mental health problems at baseline were removed from the analyses.
CONCLUSIONS:
Low optimism and high pessimism are independently associated with an increased likelihood of initiating antidepressant medication treatment, but with a decreased likelihood of ending it during the follow-up.
The personality variables optimism and pessimism are potential risk factors for disorders commonly treated with antidepressants.
AIMS:
To evaluate optimism and pessimism as predictors of initiating and ending an antidepressant treatment.
METHODS:
Data consisted of 29,930 public sector employees with no record of diagnosed depression. Optimism and pessimism were measured using the Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R) at baseline. The data of purchases of antidepressants were from the national Drug Prescription Register.
RESULTS:
During the mean follow-up of 4.4 years, 1681 participants initiated and of them 1288 ended an antidepressant treatment lasting at least 100 days. In the adjusted model, high optimism was associated with a lower likelihood of starting antidepressant medication treatment (hazard ratios, HR, 0.67, 95% CI 0.62-0.73) and a higher likelihood of stopping the treatment (HR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.08-1.30). High pessimism was associated with a higher likelihood of starting antidepressant medication treatment (HR = 1.27, 95% CI 1.16-1.38) and a lower likelihood of stopping it (HR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.80-0.98). These associations remained after optimism score was adjusted for pessimism and vice versa or those with symptoms of mental health problems at baseline were removed from the analyses.
CONCLUSIONS:
Low optimism and high pessimism are independently associated with an increased likelihood of initiating antidepressant medication treatment, but with a decreased likelihood of ending it during the follow-up.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Journal | Nordic Journal of Psychiatry |
Volume | 68 |
Issue number | 1 |
Pages (from-to) | 1-7 |
Number of pages | 7 |
ISSN | 0803-9488 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jan 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Fields of Science
- 3142 Public health care science, environmental and occupational health