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Objective: To examine the effects of typical and atypical antipsychotics on medication adherence and healthcare resource utilization.

Research design and methods: This was a retrospective observational cohort analysis of pharmacy and medical health insurance reimbursement data of patients from a southeastern United States health plan. Pharmacy data of subjects between 6 and 65 years of age were identified. Inclusion criteria included initiation of a single antipsychotic agent between July 1, 1999 and September 30, 2000; no antipsychotic medication usage 6 months prior to the index prescription date; and continuous health plan enrollment for the 18-month study period. Multivariable methods were utilized to analyze healthcare resource utilizations between groups.

Outcome measures: Primary outcome measures included: (1) adherence and persistence with antipsychotic therapy; (2) healthcare utilization for …