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
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Tuesday, December 1, 2009
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
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