Relative mortality from overdose of antidepressants

Abstract Objective: To compare the fatal toxicities of antidepressant drugs in 1987–92. Design: Retrospective epidemiological review of prescription data of the Department of Health, Scottish Office Home and Health Department, and Welsh Health Common Services Authority (excluding data from most private general practices and most hospitals), and mortality data from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys and General Register Office in Scotland. Setting: General practice, England, Scotland, and Wales. Main outcome measures: Deaths per million prescriptions and deaths per defined daily dose. Results: 81.6% (1310/1606) of deaths from antidepressant overdose were due to two drugs, amitriptyline and dothiepin. The overall average of deaths per million prescriptions was 30.1. The overall rate for tricyclic drugs was 34.14 (95% confidence interval 32.47 to 38.86; P