 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
James Walkup, PhD, Usha Sambamoorthi, PhD, Wen-Hui Wei, MA, MS, and Stephen Crystal, PhD. Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers University, 30 College Ave, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Objective: To examine the associations between depression treatment and initiation and persistence on newer antiviral therapies which include Protease Inhibitors (PI) and/ Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTI).
Study Design: Merged surveillance and Medicaid claims data for New Jersey Medicaid beneficiaries with AIDS and diagnosed with depression were used to examine the relationship between antidepressant therapy and the initiation and persistence of PI/NNRTI therapies in the period between 1996 and 1998.
Population Studied: Patients with depression (N=689) were identified by requiring one inpatient or two outpatient claims with depression (ICD, 9th edition, codes 296.2, 296.3, 300.4, and 311).
Principal Findings: Initiation of PI/NNRTI antiviral therapy was significantly more likely in the group treated with antidepressants. Receipt of antidepressant therapy was also associated with higher persistence on PI/NNRTI, based on monthly use of PI/NNRTIs and antidepressants.
Conclusions: Antidepressant therapy for depression is associated with increased initiation and persistence. Future controlled studies should examine how prescription of an antidepressant influences physician willingness to prescribe PI/NNRTI therapies and patient's persistence on these therapies.
Primary Funding Source: National Institute of Mental Health- R01 MH58984, R01 MH60831 and P30 MH 43450, AHRQ - P20 HS11825
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.