Internet searches reveal global variations in antipsychotic drug preference

Over time, there has been a general shift in preference towards atypical antipsychotic drugs (APDs), a recent study has found. Nevertheless, geographical variations in preference exist, such that richer countries tend to lean toward atypical APDs than their poorer counterparts.

Using publicly available data, the researchers looked at how Google search intensities for APDs correlated with reported country-specific prescription data. A total of 19 typical (eg, haloperidol, pimozide, and droperidol) and 22 atypical (eg, clozapine, sulpiride, and asenapine) APDs were included in the analysis, which covered the time from 2004 to 2020.

Overall, the researchers observed a rise in search intensities for atypical APDs and a corresponding drop in those for typical APDs. Of all typical APDs, the most commonly searched-for was chlorpromazine, which showed a declining trend over time. The most frequent atypical APDs were quetiapine and aripiprazole, the intensities for which increased longitudinally.

Starting from around 2007, the ratio of search intensity between atypical and typical APDs (A/T ratio) demonstrated a steady rise. All search intensities were normalized to the maximum of haloperidol.

Mapping search data to geographical locations revealed notable variations in APD preference. In particular, the A/T ratio tended to be highest in high-income countries, as determined by the gross domestic product per capita, and lower in countries where people had less purchasing power.

Broadly, A/T ratio was highest in the Oceania, North America, and Europe regions, decreasing progressively to South America, Asia, and Africa.