Baseline characteristics of patients treated with risperidone and aripiprazole
| Risperidone (n=5109) | Aripiprazole (n=3393) | |
| Treatment continuation for 1 year (n, %) | 724 (14.2) | 471 (13.9) |
| Demographics* (n, %) | ||
| Sex | ||
| Male | 3195 (62.5) | 1944 (57.3) |
| Female | 1914 (37.5) | 1449 (42.7) |
| Age (years, mean±SD) | 13.8±3.4 | 14.1±3.4 |
| Insurance type | ||
| Health insurance | 4343 (85.0) | 3182 (93.8) |
| Medical aid | 766 (15.0) | 211 (6.2) |
| Comorbidities of mental health disorders† (n, %) | ||
| First diagnosis of schizophrenia at index date | 1969 (38.5) | 1648 (48.6) |
| Anxiety disorder | 776 (15.2) | 741 (21.8) |
| Depression | 1257 (24.6) | 1184 (34.9) |
| ADHD | 1161 (22.7) | 694 (20.5) |
| Somatoform disorder | 105 (2.1) | 91 (2.7) |
| Reaction to severe stress and adjustment disorder | 438 (8.6) | 325 (9.6) |
| Other neurotic disorders | 56 (1.1) | 50 (1.5) |
| Mental retardation | 532 (10.4) | 184 (5.4) |
| Other behaviour and emotional disorders with onset generally occurring in childhood and adolescence | 124 (2.4) | 66 (1.9) |
| Emotional disorders with onset specific to childhood | 285 (5.6) | 135 (4.0) |
| Nonorganic disorder | 127 (2.5) | 114 (3.4) |
| Tic disorder | 192 (3.8) | 220 (6.5) |
| Bipolar disorder | 120 (2.3) | 117 (3.4) |
| Autism spectrum disorder | 277 (5.4) | 145 (4.3) |
| Other mental health disorders | 1150 (22.5) | 819 (24.1) |
| Prescriptions of other psychotropics† (n, %) | ||
| Anticholinergic drugs | 34 (0.7) | 18 (0.5) |
| Antianxiety drugs | 1489 (29.1) | 1097 (32.3) |
| SSRI/SNRI | 1369 (26.8) | 1169 (34.5) |
| TCA | 107 (2.1) | 76 (2.2) |
| MAO inhibitor | 196 (3.8) | 187 (5.5) |
| Methylphenidate | 892 (17.5) | 445 (13.1) |
| Nonstimulants for ADHD | 178 (3.5) | 178 (5.2) |
| Antiepileptic drugs | 612 (12.0) | 358 (10.6) |
| Lithium | 58 (1.1) | 41 (1.2) |
| Comorbidities of paediatric chronic conditions†‡ (n, %) | ||
| Neurologic and neuromuscular | 128 (2.5) | 57 (1.7) |
| Cardiovascular | 71 (1.4) | 50 (1.5) |
| Respiratory | 1 (0.0) | 5 (0.1) |
| Renal and urologic | 59 (1.2) | 31 (0.9) |
| Gastrointestinal | 81 (1.6) | 63 (1.9) |
| Haematologic or immunologic | 12 (0.2) | 13 (0.4) |
| Metabolic | 220 (4.3) | 160 (4.7) |
| Other congenital or genetic defects | 122 (2.4) | 65 (1.9) |
| Malignancy | 26 (0.5) | 7 (0.2) |
| Neonatal | 3 (0.1) | 1 (0.0) |
| Asthma | 798 (15.6) | 550 (16.2) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 54 (1.1) | 30 (0.9) |
| Seizure | 397 (7.8) | 242 (7.1) |
| Prescriptions of other general medications† (n, %) | ||
| Antipyretics, analgesics | 2960 (57.9) | 2113 (62.3) |
| Antihistamines | 3423 (67.0) | 2341 (69.0) |
| Other antiallergic agents | 7 (0.1) | 11 (0.3) |
| Cardiovascular system drugs | 363 (7.1) | 311 (9.2) |
| Respiratory system drug | 3629 (71.0) | 2420 (71.3) |
| Drugs for diabetes mellitus | 7 (0.1) | 7 (0.2) |
| Antibiotic preparations | 3600 (70.5) | 2460 (72.5) |
| Narcotic analgesics | 67 (1.3) | 52 (1.5) |
| Utilisation of healthcare system† (n, %) | ||
| Number of any route visits for mental health disorders | 1.70±3.4 | 1.95±3.70 |
| Number of inpatient visits for mental health disorders | 0.07±2.23 | 0.13±2.89 |
| Number of outpatient visits for mental health disorders | 1.62±2.16 | 1.81±2.21 |
| Number of emergency room visits for mental health disorders | 0.01±0.09 | 0.01±0.11 |
| Number of any route visits for non-mental health disorders | 12.08±13.41 | 12.43±12.67 |
| Number of inpatient visits for non-mental health disorders | 0.19±0.97 | 0.17±0.62 |
| Number of outpatient visits for non-mental health disorders | 11.92±13.21 | 12.28±12.53 |
| Number of emergency room visits for non-mental health disorders | 0.04±0.29 | 0.04±0.25 |
*Assessed on the cohort entry.
†Assessed for 1 year before the index date.
‡The paediatric complex chronic conditions were classified according to the modified criteria of Feudtner et al.
ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; MAO, monoamine oxidase inhibitor; SNRI, selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor; SSRI, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.