Data resource profile: treatment effect - data from the mental health services of the capital region of Denmark.

Abstract

Purpose: Patients with a high probability of remission in response to low-cost therapies may be identified using a battery of inexpensive clinical predictors in large observational samples. Treatment Effect Data from the Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark contributes with valuable data on individuals with a non-psychotic psychiatric disorder referred to psychotherapeutic treatment. The aim of this paper is to introduce the content of Treatment Effect Data for patients with non-psychotic major depression (MD) or anxiety disorders (AD) in Denmark.

Data collected: In Denmark the provision of psychiatric treatment is nationwide and in August 2007, the Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark launched a regional patient-reported system, Treatment Effect. All individuals residing within the Capital region of Denmark referred to psychotherapeutic treatment with a non-psychotic psychiatric disorder (e.g. AD, MD, eating disorders) electronically report symptoms, quality of life, and social functioning prior to and by the end of the treatment course.

Data resource use: Between 2007 and 2021, a total of 18,700 unique patient courses, in which individuals were diagnosed with either non-psychotic MD or AD, received standardized psychotherapeutic treatment. The patients mean age at the initial interview was 34.7 years and 71.7% were women. Half of the patients (51.6%) had severe (29.8%) or moderate (21.7%) depression according to the Major Depression Inventory.

Conclusion: Treatment Effect data provides a unique opportunity to examine treatment effects among a large cohort of unselected patients with AD and MD, but this data resource has been scarcely used for research.