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

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. 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. 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. 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.