Antidepressants Norman Lamb To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many prescriptions for each selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor were dispensed in each of the last five years; and how many were dispensed to persons aged over 65 years; (2) how many prescriptions for each selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor were dispensed to persons aged (a) under 10, (b) 10 to 15 and (c) 16 to 25 years in each of the last five years. Phil Hope The number of items of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) dispensed in England is available by calendar year from the Prescribing Cost Analysis database. The number of items dispensed for each formulation is given in the following table. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Thousand | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Drug name |2003|2004|2005|2006|2007| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Citalopram Hydrobromide |4,210.1|4,615.7|5,077.9|6,265.5|7,830.7| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Escitalopram |627.6|1,033.5|1,358.8|1,466.3|1,373.9| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Fluoxetine Hydrochloride |4,288.0|4,409.8|4,394.5|4,690.1|5,045.7| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Fluvoxamine Maleate |31.6|30.4|29.6|29.8|29.9| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Paroxetine Hydrochloride |2,869.3|2,388.3|2,040.2|1,864.9|1,765.9| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Sertraline Hydrochloride |1,790.3|1,834.3|1,845.1|1,910.7|2,032.8| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Total1 |13,816.9|14,312.0|14,746.1|16,227.1|18,078.9| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1 Totals may not match individually aggregated figures due to rounding.Notes:1. SSRI drugs listed are those classified within the British National Formulary paragraph 4.3.3.2. Information is not available on the age of a person receiving a particular drug or group of drugs.Source:Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------