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Background: Women with menopausal transition (MT) have an elevated risk of experiencing common mental health diagnoses (CMHD: depression or anxiety). There is no recent data comparing the rate, and treatment, of CMHD between men and women., Methods: In this population-based study, incidence rates (IR) per 100 person-years-at-risk (PYAR) for men and women ≥45 years registered with an UK primary care practice between 2010 and 2021 were estimated. Incidence rate ratios (IRR) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) of CMHD were estimated using men as a reference. We measured first prescriptions for psychotropic medications received within 12 months after CMHD. For selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) /selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), we measured the IR of prescribing per 100 PYAR, by 10-year bands. Proportion of SSRIs/SNRIs prescribing was estimated per 100 persons., Results: Rates of anxiety and depressive disorders were 1.68 and 1.69 per 100 PYAR in women aged 45-54 years-old compared to 0.91 and 1.20 per 100 PYAR in men, with IRR of 1.84 (95 % CI 1.72-1.97) and 1.44 (1.35-1.53) respectively. SSRIs/SNRIs were the most prescribed medication; in 2021, IRs for SSRIs/SNRIs were 13.4 per 100 PYAR in both sexes. In 2021, the proportion of SSRIs/SNRIs prescribing was 50.67 per 100 women and 41.91 per 100 men., Limitations: MT is assumed based on women's age as menopause onset is rarely recorded in primary care databases., Conclusions: Women ≥45 years experienced more CMHD compared to men, especially 45-54 years-olds, which coincides with MT. The proportion of SSRIs/SNRIs prescribing was higher in women., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Dana Alsugeir reports financial support was provided by Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In a population-based cohort study of menopausal women with common mental health diagnoses, SSRIs/SNRIs were associated with a 32% increased risk of osteoporotic fractures. The risk of osteoporotic fractures was particularly increased for longer periods of treatment with SSRIs/SNRIs (> 5 years) and in younger menopausal women (< 50 years old)., Purpose: To investigate the association between selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and the risk of osteoporotic fractures (OF) in menopausal women with common mental health diagnoses (CMHD)., Methods: We conducted the study with two designs (cohort and self-controlled case series [SCCS]), using the IQVIA Medical Research Database (IMRD) UK. The source population comprised women aged ≥ 50 years and women with a record indicating menopause (< 50 years). All women had a recorded CMHD. For the cohort analysis, the risk of OFs was estimated by comparing women prescribed SSRIs/SNRIs (exposed) to those not exposed. Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). For the SCCS, women acted as their own controls; periods of exposure to SSRIs/SNRIs were compared to periods of non-exposure using conditional Poisson regression to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRR) with 95% CIs., Results: We identified 292,848 women, of whom 35,222 experienced OFs within a median follow-up of 6.01 years. We found strong evidence of an association between SSRIs/SNRIs and the risk of OFs (adjusted HR = 1.32, 95% CI:1.29-1.35). Compared to periods of no exposure, SSRIs/SNRIs increased the risk of OFs during the first 30 days (IRR = 1.38, 95% CI:1.26-1.51), during the first 90 days (IRR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.48-1.69), and the remaining exposure (IRR = 1.42, 95% CI:1.37-1.48)., Conclusions: In a population of menopausal women with CMHDs, the prescribing of SSRIs/SNRIs antidepressants was associated with a higher risk of OFs. Careful assessment of osteoporosis risk needs to be considered when treating menopausal women with SSRIs/SNRIs antidepressants., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Antidepressants and menopause are risk factors which are independently associated with an increased risk of fractures. This review aims to investigate the risk of fragility fractures in women aged 40 and older and prescribed antidepressants., Methods: A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Ovid Embase, Ovid PsychINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus from inception to 1 June 2024. Relevant citations were identified and screened against our inclusion/exclusion criteria. The study population comprised women over 40 years. The risk of fragility fractures was compared between users and non-users of antidepressants. Risk of bias assessment was carried out using the ROBINS-I tool. A meta-analysis of cohort studies was performed to assess fracture risk associated with prescribing of any antidepressant agents, and SSRIs specifically., Results: Of the 3,676 articles retrieved, five observational studies were found eligible for inclusion ( n  = 1,240,354). In a meta-analysis of 4 studies, an increased risk of fractures in women was associated with the prescribing of antidepressants (HR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.15-2.28; I 2  = 96.50%) and SSRIs in particular (HR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.20-1.55; I 2  = 40.32%)., Conclusions: Findings from this review suggest that prescribing of antidepressants is associated with an increased risk of fractures in women aged 40 and older. Substantial heterogeneity between studies may have affected the results of the meta-analysis.

Background and Objectives: Repurposing phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5Is) as drugs for Alzheimer disease (AD) risk reduction has shown promise based on animal studies. However, evidence in humans remains inconclusive. Therefore, we conducted a cohort study to evaluate the association between PDE5I initiation compared with nonuse and the risk of developing AD in men with erectile dysfunction (ED)., Methods: Using electronic health records from IQVIA Medical Research Data UK (formerly known as the THIN database), we identified men aged ≥40 years with a new diagnosis of ED between 2000 and 2017. Individuals with a previous diagnosis of dementia, cognitive impairment, confusion, or prescription for dementia symptoms were excluded. The occurrence of incident AD was identified using diagnostic read codes. To minimize immortal-time bias, PDE5I initiation was treated as a time-varying exposure variable. Potential confounders were adjusted using inverse probability of treatment weighting based on propensity scores. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) with 95% CIs. A secondary analysis explored the association between AD and the cumulative number of PDE5I prescriptions. Sensitivity analyses included lag (delay) periods of 1 and 3 years after cohort entry to address the prodromal stage of AD., Results: The study included 269,725 men, with 1,119 newly diagnosed with AD during a median follow-up of 5.1 (interquartile range 2.9-8.9) years. The adjusted HR in PDE5I initiators compared with nonuse was 0.82 (95% CI 0.72-0.93). The associated risk of AD decreased in individuals issued >20 prescriptions: HR 0.56 (95% CI 0.43-0.73) for 21-50 prescriptions and HR 0.65 (95% CI 0.49-0.87) for >50 prescriptions. Sensitivity analysis with a 1-year lag period supported the primary findings (HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.72-0.94), but the results differed with the inclusion of a 3-year lag period (HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.80-1.08)., Discussion: PDE5I initiation in men with ED was associated with a lower risk of AD, particularly in those most frequently issued prescriptions. The differences between primary and sensitivity analyses highlight the need to explore the optimal lag period. To enhance the generalizability of our findings, a randomized controlled trial including both sexes and exploring various PDE5I doses would be beneficial to confirm the association between PDE5I and AD.

Introduction: We investigated trends in the incidence of dementia in UK adults with hypertension., Methods: Primary care electronic health records from IQVIA Medical Research Data UK, previously known as THIN, were used to identify 2,133,118 adults aged ≥40 years with hypertension over 2000 to 2021. The annual incidence rate and average annual percentage change in recorded dementia diagnoses were estimated and stratified by sex, 10-year age bands, Townsend deprivation quintiles and dementia subtype., Results: The crude incidence rate of dementia in people with hypertension increased from 1.98 (95% confidence internal [CI] 1.89-2.07) per 1000 person-years at risk (PYAR) in 2000 to 5.29 per 1000 PYAR (95% CI 5.07-5.53) in 2021, corresponding to an average annual increase of 4.1% (95% CI 3.3-5.0). Those aged ≥80 years, the most economically deprived (Townsend = 5), and Alzheimer's disease subtype reported the highest incidence rate within their respective categories., Discussion: The annual incidence rate of dementia in the hypertensive population has increased over the last 22 years., Highlights: New dementia diagnosis in the hypertensive population has increased over 22 years.The Alzheimer's disease subtype reported the highest incidence rate in people with hypertension.Difference in dementia incidence between hypertensive females and males has reduced.Difference in dementia incidence among deprivation categories has reduced in recent years., Competing Interests: Mr. Matthew Adesuyan, Dr. Yogini H. Jani, Ms. Dana Alsugeir, Professor Robert Howard, Professor Li Wei, and Dr. Ruth Brauer all have no conflicts of interest to declare in relation to the subject matter and content discussed in this manuscript. Author disclosures are available in the supporting information., (© 2023 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring published by Wiley Periodicals, LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.)

Background: Recent studies on the prescribing of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) medicines to treat symptoms of menopause are lacking., Aim: To describe the prescribing of HRT in a cohort of UK menopausal women., Design & Setting: Population-based drug utilisation study using IQVIA Medical Research Database (IMRD-UK)., Method: Primary care data of women with recorded menopause and/or aged ≥50 years between January 2010 and November 2021 were extracted from the database. The incidence rate of women who received their first prescription for HRT was calculated annually using person-years-at-risk (PYAR) as the denominator. Incidence rates of HRT were estimated by type and route of administration. Relative changes in annual incidence rates were expressed as percentages and the average percentage change was assessed using linear regression. Annual prescribing prevalence per 100 women was calculated using mid-year menopausal population estimates., Results: The incidence rate of prescribing of HRT increased from 5.01 in 2010 to 18.16 per 1000 PYAR in 2021, a relative increase of 13.64% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 6.97 to 20.30) per year. The incidence rate of fixed combinations of HRT increased from 3.33 to 12.23 per 1000 PYAR in 2010 and 2021, respectively. Transdermal formulations of HRT increased from 1.48 to 14.55 per 1000 PYAR in 2010 and 2021, respectively. The overall proportion of women in receipt of a prescription for HRT changed from 7.89% in 2010 to 6.86% in 2020., Conclusion: This study shows a steady increase in the number of women receiving their first prescription for HRT during the study period, which suggests regained acceptance of HRT medicines., (Copyright © 2022, The Authors.)