Tags : Antidepressant, prozac
Antidepressant Use Almost Doubles In United States
New York, NY (AHN) – The use of antidepressant medications almost doubled in the United States since the mid-1990s, according to a new study.
Between 1996 and 2005, the amount of the U.S. population taking drugs like Prozac has increased from 5.84 percent of the population to 10.12 percent, or from about 13 million Americans to 27 million, according to the study, published in the August issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
The exception to the trend was in ethnic minorities, the researchers from the Columbia University Medical Center, New York State Psychiatric Institute and the University of Pennsylvania said in a statement.
Antidepressant usage among African Americans was low in 1996 – 3.7 percent – and was 5.2 percent in 2005.
The researchers said several factors have likely contributed to the increased use of the drugs, including the general expansion of mental health treatment, depression may have become more common, several new antidepressants were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during the time frame and clinical guidelines were published that supported the prescribing of the drugs to treat a variety of conditions.
The researchers said that antidepressants are now the most commonly prescribed medications in the country.
Related posts:
