Characteristics, management and medical costs of patients with depressive disorders admitted in primary and specialised care centres in Spain between 2011 and 2016

More than 10% of the population will suffer from a depressive disorder during their lifetime, which represents a substantial economic and social burden for healthcare systems and societies. Nonetheless, studies suggest that an important percentage of patients receive inadequate treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of patients with depressive disorder in Spain, the current management of these disorders and the costs of specialised care. A retrospective multicentre study was designed including admission records from patients admitted due to a depressive disorder between 2011 and 2016, extracted from a Spanish claims database. The records obtained corresponded to 306,917 patients attended in primary care centres and 27,963 patients registered in specialised care settings. The number of admissions per patient progressively increased over the study period. A correlation was found with socioeconomic factors as the unemployment rate, increased versus the general population (OR = 1.41; 95%CI = 1.38–1.43). Equally, comorbid conditions as hypertension, disorders of lipoid metabolism, diabetes type II, other mood disorders and thyroid disorders were associated with severe presentations of a depressive disorder. In terms of disease management, patients with a severe disorder were the majority in specialised care settings, and most admissions were urgent and inpatient admissions. The use of both electroconvulsive therapy and drug therapy increased during the study period. In terms of costs, specialised care represented an annual cost of €9,654 per patient, and a total annual cost of €44,839,196. Altogether, improved detection and treatment protocols could contribute in reducing the burden that depressive disorders represent for the Spanish National Healthcare System.