We are grateful to Dr Vincenti1 for his interest in our article on medicalisation.2 He is right that amitriptyline is used for pain control and not only for depression.
However, we did not refer to amitriptyline in our article but used the word ‘antidepressants.’ The great majority of new prescriptions for depression written by general practitioners are for SSRIs. Furthermore, the Nuffield Trust Report, from which we took our figures,3 excluded amitriptyline from analyses for the very reason Dr Vincenti highlights.
Footnotes
Declarations
References
1.
VincentiGE. Antidepressant excess. J R Soc Med2016; 109: 219.
2.
Pereira GrayDWhiteERussellG. Medicalisation in the UK: changing dynamics but still ongoing. J R Soc Med2016; 109: 7–11.
