Choice of Antidepressants: a Questionnaire Survey of Psychiatrists and GPs in two Areas of Sweden

The authors sought to identify factors that affect physicians’ choice of specific antidepressant drugs in order to evaluate the validity of epidemiological studies of the risks (particularly suicide) & benefits of different compounds. They found that Amitriptyline was the most common first line drug of choice among both psychiatrists & general practitioners, although low toxicity compounds (mainly lofeparmine, mianserin, & moclobemide) were more often the drug of choice in depression associated with the overt risk of suicide. (15 refs)