Trend of dose of antipsychotics
In 2021, the average daily dose of SGAs prescribed to the patients was 558.8 mg (CPeq), and the average dose per person administered in the past 20 years showed a significant difference (F = 123.1, df = 4, p = 2.5x10-82), with an increasing trend (r = 0.950, p = 0.013) (Table 2 and Fig 2). On the other hand, FGAs were prescribed to the patients in 2021 at an average daily dose of 230.0 mg of CPeq, and the average daily dose of CPeq per person receiving these drugs in the past 20 years was significantly different (F = 103.4, df = 4, p = 4.6x10-97), showing a downward trend (r = -0.984, p = 0.002) (Table 2 and Fig 2). The mean daily CPeq dose of all antipsychotics prescribed to the patients in 2021 was 531.2 mg, which was unchanged (F = 2.24, df = 4, p = 0.062) over the past 20 years (Fig 2). The average daily dose of anticholinergics (r = -0.994, p = 6.2x10-4) and anxiolytics and sleeping pills (r = -0.931, p = 0.021) showed a decreasing trend over the past 20 years (Fig 2). The average daily dose of antidepressants was also unchanged (r = 0.865, p = 0.058) (Fig 2).
SGAs prescribed in 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, and 2021 showed an increasing trend in the average daily dose for the patients (Fig 2); on the other hand, FGAs prescribed in these years showed a downward trend in the average daily CPeq dosage for the patients (Fig 2). The average daily CPeq dosage of patients prescribed any antipsychotic remained constant over the past 20 years (Fig 2). Ratios of FGA CPeq dose to antipsychotic total CPeq dose showed a decreasing trend over the past 20 years, while those of SGA CPeq dose to antipsychotic total CPeq dose showed a increasing trend over the past 20 years (Fig 3).