Medicinski Glasnik (Feb 2007)
Comparison of outpatient utilization of psychopharmaceuticals between Croatia and Scandinavian countries (2001-2003)
Abstract
Neurotropic drugs account for 15% of total drug utilization in Croatia. The aim was to estimate outpatient consumption of psychotropic drugs in Croatia in correlation with Scandinavian countries. Data on drug utilization in Croatia were collected and analyzed for the 2001-2003 period. Data were obtained from Zagreb Municipal Pharmacy and extrapolated to the total number of pharmacies. All drugs were classified according to Anatomical-Therapeutic-Chemical (ATC) drug classification system. These data were used to calculate a number of defined daily doses (DDD) and DDD per 1000 inhabitants per day (DDD/TID). Data of the Nordic Medico-Statistical Committee were used for Scandinavian countries. In Croatia, total utilization of psychopharmaceuticals of 144.9 DDD/TID in 2001, 148.9 DDD/TID in 2002 and 141.9 DDD/TID in 2003 exceeded that recorded in Scandinavian countries. Anxiolytics accounted for 90% of psycholeptic utilization in Croatia versus 22% in Sweden and 34% in Finland. The anxiolytic/antidepressant ratio decreased in Croatia by 35.19% (7.19 in 2001 and 4.66 in 2003), whereas in Scandinavian countries it showed a constant rate (0.7 in Finland, 0.4 in Denmark and Norway, and 0.3 in Sweden).
