Table 2 Characteristics of the study population at the first antidepressant prescription, according to antidepressant class
| Â | Any SSRI | Any TCA | Any antidepressant |
|---|---|---|---|
N | 22,130 | 10,489 | 33,031 |
Female, n (%) | 14,960 (67.6%) | 7054 (67.3%) | 22,279 (67.4%) |
Age at first prescription, median (IQR) | 16 (15–17) | 16 (13–17) | 16 (15–17) |
Aged 5–11, n (%) | 652 (2.9%) | 1659 (15.8%) | 2330 (7.1%) |
Aged 12–17, n (%) | 21,478 (97.1%) | 8830 (84.2%) | 30,701 (92.9%) |
Townsend quintile, n (%) | |||
 1 (least deprived) | 5481 (24.8%) | 2670 (25.5%) | 8234 (24.9%) |
 2 | 5554 (25.1%) | 2515 (24.0%) | 8156 (24.7%) |
 3 | 4891 (22.1%) | 2200 (21.0%) | 7195 (21.8%) |
 4 | 3912 (17.7%) | 1798 (17.1%) | 5788 (17.5%) |
 5 (most deprived) | 2262 (10.2%) | 1288 (12.3%) | 3610 (10.9%) |
 Unknown | 30 (0.1%) | 18 (0.2%) | 48 (0.2%) |
Ethnicity, n (%) | |||
 White | 15,769 (71.3%) | 6786 (64.7%) | 22,827 (69.1%) |
 Mixed | 298 (1.4%) | 146 (1.4%) | 451 (1.4%) |
 Asian or Asian British | 541 (2.4%) | 576 (5.5%) | 1130 (3.4%) |
 Black or Black British | 191 (0.9%) | 219 (2.1%) | 416 (1.3%) |
 Chinese or Other | 177 (0.8%) | 81 (0.8%) | 265 (0.8%) |
 Unknown | 5154 (23.3%) | 2681 (25.6%) | 7942 (24.0%) |
Practice region, n (%) | |||
 East Midlands | 1092 (4.9%) | 623 (5.9%) | 1730 (5.2%) |
 East of England | 1615 (7.3%) | 869 (8.3%) | 2510 (7.6%) |
 London | 2387 (10.8%) | 1341 (12.8%) | 3780 (11.4%) |
 North East | 824 (3.7%) | 382 (3.6%) | 1215 (3.7%) |
 North West | 3915 (17.7%) | 1499 (14.3%) | 5498 (16.6%) |
 South East | 6275 (28.4%) | 2618 (25.0%) | 9010 (27.3%) |
 South of England | 2367 (10.7%) | 1418 (13.5%) | 3838 (11.6%) |
 West Midlands | 2759 (12.5%) | 1076 (10.3%) | 3882 (11.8%) |
 Yorkshire and The Humber | 896 (4.1%) | 663 (6.3%) | 1568 (4.8%) |