Ten-Year Trends in Lithium Prescribing in Alberta, Canada.

Rather than a general decline in prescribing, trends in lithium use are dependent on age and sex. Further, the period soon after lithium initiation appears to be a key time period in which many lithium trials are abandoned. Detailed studies using primary data collection are needed to confirm and further explore these findings. These population-based results not only confirm a decline in lithium use, but also suggest that this may have stopped or even reversed. Population-based data on discontinuation pinpoint the period soon after initiation as the time when trials are most often discontinued.