Feelings of unhappiness, decreased energy, insomnia and irritability are all symptoms of depression. And antidepressants can help relieve depression.
But for some people, these drugs may also have dangerous or troubling side effects -- drowsiness, feelings of panic, nervousness, sexual problems, thoughts of suicide or weight gain -- and should be taken only by people who really need them. So it's alarming that a new study shows antidepressant use has nearly doubled in the United States since the mid-1990s.
In the study, published in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers analyzed data from a national survey of antidepressant use conducted in 1996 and again in 2005. The survey included people age 6 and older.
Between 1996 and 2005, the rate of those reporting that they had used antidepressants in the past year jumped from 5.8 percent to 10.1 percent. This translates to an increase from about 13.3 million people to 27 million. The change was more dramatic among whites than African Americans or Hispanics.
READ MORE @ WASHINGTON POST
Showing posts with label antidepressant use. Show all posts
Showing posts with label antidepressant use. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Pills and America's pursuit of happiness
Antidepressant use has soared during the recession but reaching for the pill bottle goes back decades.
Of all the bitter pills Americans are swallowing nowadays, from joblessness to home foreclosures to runaway national debt, it might come as no surprise that a pill of another sort is flying off the shelves at a recession-defying pace – the antidepressant.
It's an easy jump to conclude that hard times are turning the country comfortably numb, as the Washington Post suggested in a weekend report on the sales of the drug Cymbalta, up 14 per cent since the summer of 2008 and now among America's most popular happy pills.
Drill deeper and you will find that the U.S., though far and away a world leader with its $10-billion-a-year antidepressant habit, is not alone.
Over the summer, British politicians fretted over the impact of recession on mental health amid data showing a spike of 2.1 million antidepressant prescriptions last year, when the downturn took its first precipitous dive.
Same in India, where pharmaceutical firms reported a 20 per cent expansion of the antidepressant market in the year ending December 2008. And in New Zealand, where the global plunge was linked to reports of a near doubling in antidepressant prescriptions between 2002 and 2008.
But drill down deeper still and the story behind the flurry of cause-and-effect headlines is far more nuanced.
While many researchers acknowledge there is likely an uptick in med sales as a consequence of the poor economy, most say it is driven as much or more by trends decades in the making.
READ MORE @ TORONTO STAR
Of all the bitter pills Americans are swallowing nowadays, from joblessness to home foreclosures to runaway national debt, it might come as no surprise that a pill of another sort is flying off the shelves at a recession-defying pace – the antidepressant.
It's an easy jump to conclude that hard times are turning the country comfortably numb, as the Washington Post suggested in a weekend report on the sales of the drug Cymbalta, up 14 per cent since the summer of 2008 and now among America's most popular happy pills.
Drill deeper and you will find that the U.S., though far and away a world leader with its $10-billion-a-year antidepressant habit, is not alone.
Over the summer, British politicians fretted over the impact of recession on mental health amid data showing a spike of 2.1 million antidepressant prescriptions last year, when the downturn took its first precipitous dive.
Same in India, where pharmaceutical firms reported a 20 per cent expansion of the antidepressant market in the year ending December 2008. And in New Zealand, where the global plunge was linked to reports of a near doubling in antidepressant prescriptions between 2002 and 2008.
But drill down deeper still and the story behind the flurry of cause-and-effect headlines is far more nuanced.
While many researchers acknowledge there is likely an uptick in med sales as a consequence of the poor economy, most say it is driven as much or more by trends decades in the making.
READ MORE @ TORONTO STAR
Monday, August 3, 2009
Antidepressant Use in U.S. Has Almost Doubled Study also finds increases in use of other psychotropic medications
Antidepressant use among U.S. residents almost doubled between 1996 and 2005, along with a concurrent rise in the use of other psychotropic medications, a new report shows.
The increase seemed to span virtually all demographic groups.
"Over 10 percent of people over the age of 6 were receiving anti-depression medication. That strikes me as significant," said study author Dr. Mark Olfson, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City.
According to background information in the study, antidepressants are now the most widely prescribed class of drugs in the United States. The expansion in use dates back to the 1980s, with the introduction of the antidepressant Prozac (fluoxetine).
The study found that 5.84 percent of U.S. residents aged 6 and over were using antidepressants in 1996, compared with 10.12 percent in 2005. That's 13.3 million people, up to 27 million people.
"This is a 20-year trend and it's very powerful," remarked Dr. Eric Caine, chair of the department of psychiatry and co-director of the Center for the Study of Prevention of Suicide at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
This happened despite a "black box" warning mandated for many antidepressant medications by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2004, the study authors noted.
READ MORE @ U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
The increase seemed to span virtually all demographic groups.
"Over 10 percent of people over the age of 6 were receiving anti-depression medication. That strikes me as significant," said study author Dr. Mark Olfson, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City.
According to background information in the study, antidepressants are now the most widely prescribed class of drugs in the United States. The expansion in use dates back to the 1980s, with the introduction of the antidepressant Prozac (fluoxetine).
The study found that 5.84 percent of U.S. residents aged 6 and over were using antidepressants in 1996, compared with 10.12 percent in 2005. That's 13.3 million people, up to 27 million people.
"This is a 20-year trend and it's very powerful," remarked Dr. Eric Caine, chair of the department of psychiatry and co-director of the Center for the Study of Prevention of Suicide at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
This happened despite a "black box" warning mandated for many antidepressant medications by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2004, the study authors noted.
READ MORE @ U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
Monday, May 11, 2009
Antidepressants: The right people aren't always getting them
The medications are widely used to treat complaints such as loneliness or low energy. Meanwhile, studies say many with depression go untreated.
It was just over 20 years ago that the antidepressant Prozac was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The medication was touted as nothing short of a miracle: Not only was it was highly effective in treating depression, it also caused very few side effects.
The drug's popularity grew rapidly, and pharmaceutical companies got busy developing a variety of other, chemically similar antidepressants, collectively referred to as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (or SSRIs). There are at least half a dozen SSRIs on the market, including Lexapro, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa and Luvox.
Since the introduction of these drugs, the number of Americans being treated for depression has increased dramatically; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says antidepressants are the most commonly prescribed medication in the country. But it's not always the right people taking them. Some who probably have very little to gain from their use are on SSRIs; others who stand to benefit are not.
READ MORE @ LOS ANGELES TIMES
It was just over 20 years ago that the antidepressant Prozac was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The medication was touted as nothing short of a miracle: Not only was it was highly effective in treating depression, it also caused very few side effects.
The drug's popularity grew rapidly, and pharmaceutical companies got busy developing a variety of other, chemically similar antidepressants, collectively referred to as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (or SSRIs). There are at least half a dozen SSRIs on the market, including Lexapro, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa and Luvox.
Since the introduction of these drugs, the number of Americans being treated for depression has increased dramatically; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says antidepressants are the most commonly prescribed medication in the country. But it's not always the right people taking them. Some who probably have very little to gain from their use are on SSRIs; others who stand to benefit are not.
READ MORE @ LOS ANGELES TIMES
Monday, March 16, 2009
Antidepressants Linked to Sudden Cardiac Death in Women
A new study has concluded that women with no history of cardiac problems but who use antidepressants are at an increased risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD). HealthDay ,News reports that the reason for the link remains unknown, according to the researchers whose findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
“We suspect that their use is a marker for people with worse depression,” explained the study’s lead author Dr. William Whang, an assistant professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in Manhattan. “The elevated risk seems more specific for antidepressant use, but that use may well be a marker of more severe symptoms,” quoted HealthDay News. Whang noted that the link seemed to be physiological saying, “We found that women who had worse depressive symptoms had higher rates of risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and smoking.” As a matter-of-fact, the report indicated, said HealthDay News, women with clinical depression were at a two-fold risk of experiencing SCD.
READ MORE @ NEWS INFERNO
“We suspect that their use is a marker for people with worse depression,” explained the study’s lead author Dr. William Whang, an assistant professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in Manhattan. “The elevated risk seems more specific for antidepressant use, but that use may well be a marker of more severe symptoms,” quoted HealthDay News. Whang noted that the link seemed to be physiological saying, “We found that women who had worse depressive symptoms had higher rates of risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and smoking.” As a matter-of-fact, the report indicated, said HealthDay News, women with clinical depression were at a two-fold risk of experiencing SCD.
READ MORE @ NEWS INFERNO
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Treating depression seen important in heart failure
Depression increases the risk of death in patients with heart failure, but the risk apparently disappears with antidepressant use, according to a study.
"Recent studies suggest that the use of antidepressants may be associated with increased mortality (death) in patients with cardiac disease," Dr. Christopher M. O'Connor, of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues note in the medical journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
"Because depression has also been shown to be associated with increased mortality in these patients, it remains unclear if this association is attributable to the use of antidepressants or to depression."
The researchers therefore studied roughly 1,000 patients hospitalized for heart failure who were followed up annually. The authors prospectively collected data on depression status and use of antidepressants.
READ MORE @ REUTERS
"Recent studies suggest that the use of antidepressants may be associated with increased mortality (death) in patients with cardiac disease," Dr. Christopher M. O'Connor, of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues note in the medical journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
"Because depression has also been shown to be associated with increased mortality in these patients, it remains unclear if this association is attributable to the use of antidepressants or to depression."
The researchers therefore studied roughly 1,000 patients hospitalized for heart failure who were followed up annually. The authors prospectively collected data on depression status and use of antidepressants.
READ MORE @ REUTERS
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