Scandinavian Journal of Public Health
2019

Antipsychotic medication use among working-age first-generation migrants resident in Finland: An administrative data linkage study (Article)

Bosqui T.* , Väänänen A. , Koskinen A. , Buscariolli A. , O’reilly D. , Airila A. , Toivanen M. , Kouvonen A.
  • a Department of Psychology, American University of Beirut, Lebanon, Administrative Data Research Centre – Northern Ireland, Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom
  • b Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Finland, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, United Kingdom
  • c Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Finland
  • d Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Finland, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland
  • e Administrative Data Research Centre – Northern Ireland, Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom, UKCRC Centre of Excellence for Public Health (Northern Ireland), Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom
  • f Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Finland
  • g Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Finland
  • h Administrative Data Research Centre – Northern Ireland, Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Wroclaw, Poland

Abstract

Aims: Higher incidence of psychotic disorders in high-income countries for migrants compared with the settled majority has been well established. However, it is less clear to what extent different migrants groups have accessed and utilised mental health care. This study aimed to identify the hazard of antipsychotic medication use in the largest migrant groups in Finland, compared with a Finnish-born comparison group, using high quality datasets maintained by Statistics Finland and Social Insurance Institution Finland, and linking socio-demographic and -economic characteristics to antipsychotic prescription purchases. Methods: The study draws on a representative sample of 33% of the adult working-age population of Finland in 2005 (n = 1,059,426, 50.2% male, 2.5% migrant). The use of antipsychotic drugs was followed-up from 2005 to 2014. Results: The results show that the hazard of antipsychotic medication purchases differed between migrant groups, with a higher hazard for migrants from North Africa and the Middle East before socio-economic adjustment (men HR 1.19, 95% CI 1.04–1.37; women HR 1.37, 95% CI 1.12–1.66), and a lower hazard for all migrant groups after adjustment for socio-economic characteristics compared with the Finland-born population. Conclusions: The findings suggest that attention should be paid to the lower use of medication for psychotic disorders in some migrant groups, as well as the potential role of social disadvantage for migrants from North Africa and Middle East. © Author(s) 2019.

Author Keywords

Migrants Data linkage Psychosis Finland psychotropic medication

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85064574180&doi=10.1177%2f1403494819841960&partnerID=40&md5=477f02349004a0889b24151599ed506f
DOI: 10.1177/1403494819841960
ISSN: 14034948
Original Language: English