The use of Antidepressants among Lebanese Population in Bekaa Valley: Knowledge and Perspective
Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the use of antidepressants among the Lebanese population, focusing on factors that may contribute to their use, and to assess the knowledge of antidepressants in patients recruited for this study. Methods: This observational study was conducted over a period of one month in the Bekaa region. After taking their approval, a total number of 283Lebanese residents were interviewed and asked about the use, perspective and knowledge of antidepressants. A questionnaire was filled by pharmacists to gather information from the residents. Results: Results showed that 61.1% of respondents took antidepressants in the 3 past months, 30.4% were university students (p = 0.048), among of which32.5% reported using social media many times per day. 83.2% of medications were prescribed by a physician, while 9.8% were prescribed by a pharmacist, among of which 48% didn’t interrupt the treatment course on their own (p=0.001). Furthermore, 54.77% of respondents got scores of more than 4/6 when asked about their knowledge concerning antidepressants.
