| |
Basic InformationMore InformationAging and DepressionAntidepressants No Better Than Placebo Says A New Study, But It's Really More Complicated Than That... Blunt InstrumentsBrain Neuroplasticity and Treatment Resistant DepressionComing Out of the Depression ClosetCosmo Magic to Cyclothymic: Highs, Lows and States of FlowDepression and CancerDepression and DiabetesDepression and Heart DiseaseDepression and HIV/AIDSDepression and ParkinsonsDepression and StrokeDepression and WomenDepression, ADHD, Psychotherapy and MedicationDysthymic Disorder SymptomsElliott Smith and the gift of Vulnerability MusicFeeling Good, It's Not Just In the BrainGoing Postal: The Road to Depression and SalvationGuest Editorial: Celeb Feud Brought Up Critical IssuesHelping Children Understand and Cope with Parental DepressionListening to Readers on Prozac, Depression & the Medical System: Part IListening to Readers on Prozac, Depression & the Medical System: Part IIMajor Depression SymptomsMen and DepressionNational Depression Screening Day, Thursday October 8, 2009Older Adults: Depression and Suicide FactsOrganizationsPost Partum Depression and The Importance of SleepReader Feedback on the Depression SeriesRunning On FiftySt. John's Wort FAQStudents and College, A Stressful Time of Life: Parents and Students BewareSymptoms of Depressive DisordersThe Biochemical - Psychosexual Revolution: Getting Up and Close while Being Down and OutThe Existential Crisis, Depression, Anxiety and MortalityThe Liberating and Entangling Webs of Technology, Depression and ProzacThe Long Term Effects of BullyingTop Twelve Tips for Beating (Mostly) Moderate Chronic Clinical DepressionTreatmentTreatment 1 of 2Treatment 2 of 2Unmasking Mental IllnessWebsitesWhat about the "milder" depression: Dysthymic disorder?Why People Might Use Anxiety to Avoid Depression: Part 2Why People Might Use Anxiety to Avoid Depression: What We Can Learn From a Wartime ExperienceWise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with James Gordon MD on Mind Body Medicine and His Book 'Unstuck'Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with with Ronald Dworkin, MD, Ph.D. on Artificial Happiness TestsLatest NewsPhone Care Can Help Combat Post-Heart Surgery DepressionClinical Trials Update: Nov. 16, 2009Depression Linked to Immune Response in PregnancyClinical Trials Update: Nov. 12, 2009Health Tip: Symptoms of Postpartum DepressionBrain Stimulation May Ease Treatment-Resistant DepressionClinical Trials Update: Nov. 9, 2009Adjunctive Psychotherapy for Depression StudiedDepression May Blur Memory of Aches and PainsCognitive Behavioral Therapy Helps Overcome Winter BluesPsychotherapy Beats Light Treatment for SADPhone Counseling for Depression Rings With PromiseDepression Often Goes Untreated in Working MomsConstant Light Linked to Symptoms of DepressionOmega-3 Augmentation of Antidepressant EvaluatedSuicidal Thoughts May Vary by AntidepressantImpact of Maternal Depression and Abuse on Children StudiedRecession Adds to Ranks of Americans With DepressionDepression, Anxiety May Raise Odds of ObesityTelephone Care and Therapy Help to Treat DepressionMother's Use of Antidepressant May Carry Risks for NewbornTroubled Minds Can Mean Wider WaistlinesTeens With ADHD, Depression Risk Internet AddictionAntidepressants May Be Linked to Birth ProblemsMediterranean Diet May Help Prevent DepressionAntidepressants Linked to Heart Defects in NewbornsPredicting Postpartum Depression May Be PossibleDrinking, Weight, Depression Linked in Young Women: StudyHealth Care Assistants May Be Useful in Depression CareDepression May Hasten Cancer DeathStudies Explore Genetic Factors Underlying DepressionSevere, Lasting Depression Tied to Heart Patient DeathsDepressed Teens Continue to Suffer into AdulthoodReport Addresses Depression Management in PregnancyDepression's Effect on Pleasure Is RealForeclosures Plunge People Into DepressionSuicide Risk With Antidepressants Falls With AgeCombo Treatment May Ease Depression After StrokeAntidepressant Use in U.S. Has Almost DoubledCan Children Headed for Teen Depression Be Spotted Early?Primary Care Identification of Depression ExaminedGloomy Days Dim Cognitive Powers of the DepressedDepression Poses Pregnancy RisksDepression, Anxiety Bad for the HeartStudy Refutes Depression Gene FindingDrug May Stem Slide Into Alzheimer's for SomeEffects of Depression on Families Need to Be AddressedIf Mom or Dad Is Depressed, Kids Need Help TooEarly Bedtime May Help Stave Off Teen DepressionNew Program May Help Teens at High Risk for Depression Questions and AnswersBlog EntriesDepression, ADHD, Psychotherapy and MedicationKeeping You Sane: Do You Need a Day Out? Exploring the Upside of ADHDHow to Gain Control of Your Mind, Instead of Your Mind Controlling YouWhat You Need to Know about H1N1 and DepressionMindfulness and ADHD: A Tip from Dr. Lidia ZylowskaFreedom from Your Anxious MindThe Existential Crisis, Depression, Anxiety and MortalityADHD - Breaking the Cycle of ShameFeeling Good, It's Not Just In the BrainAre You Wired to Worry? Children, ADHD and Stimulant MedicationNational Depression Screening Day, Thursday October 8, 2009Mental Health: Our Troubled TeenagersDepression and Its MeaningsTeenage Depression and Consequences5 Steps to Emotional Freedom: Placebo or Panacea?Couples Therapy for Robert and Julia (Romeo and Juliet)New Research: Mindfulness-Based Program as Effective as Antidepressant MedicationAnxiety as a Defense Against Depression: Part 7Students and College, A Stressful Time of Life: Parents and Students BewareAnxiety as a Defense Against Depression: Part 6Brain Neuroplasticity and Treatment Resistant DepressionWhy People Might Use Anxiety to Avoid Depression: Part 5Feeling Stuck? Two Things You Need to Know to Make a Change Why People Might Use Anxiety to Avoid Depression: Part 4Childhood, Parental Loss and DepressionOne Strategy You Need to Know for Bipolar DisorderWhy People Might Use Anxiety to Avoid Depression: Part 3Psychiatric Meds: The Personal Debate Over UseWhy People Might Use Anxiety to Avoid Depression: Part 2Are You at Risk for Depression? Here's One Way to Find OutWhat about the "milder" depression: Dysthymic disorder?Why People Might Use Anxiety to Avoid Depression: What We Can Learn From a Wartime ExperienceBipolar Mood Swings? 4 Steps to Nip Them in the BudElisha Goldstein's Top 10 Mental Help Blog Posts3 Steps Out of Helplessness Post Partum Depression and The Importance of Sleep"The Big Emptiness": Hoarding, OCD, Depression and the Quest for MeaningFeeling Depressed? 3 Steps to HappinessDoes Psychotherapy Help Everyone?Of Parking Lots, Stress, Life and PsychotherapyFeeling Stuck with Anxiety or Depression? Try this Today! Catastrophizing Controlling Your Life: 3 Steps to Break FreeTeenagers and Depression: Their Families and PsychotherapyMeaning in Life: What Golf Balls Can Teach UsPeace in Oneself, Peace in the WorldWake Up to What Makes You Happy!Want Mental Health? Lessons from a KingKristie Alley and the Problem of Obesity and DietingHandling Difficult Emotions: The Path Less TraveledCan Blogs Really Help? Making Friends, A Matter of Where You Live?3 Ways to Stay Up in a Depressed Work EnvironmentOne Strategy to be More Successful Day to DayLife Feel Overwhelming? Lessons From a DishwasherWork Place Climate, Depression and Job SearchingVegetarian Diets May Harbor Eating Disordered Youngsters: This is it! Letting Go of Daily StruggleCognitive Distortions, also known as To Do: 3 Steps to Healing When You're Feeling Blue Depression: How We Get Stuck and What Can HelpYoung Yet Sad: The Social PhobicAn Interview with Thomas Joiner, Ph.D. on Why People Commit SuicideAlcohol as the Cause of Depression?Compassion: The Missing LinkBreak Free from the Mental Recession or Depression by Doing LessDepression and MarriageDementia and Neuroplasticity: What Might Help TodayHow this economic recession can pull you into an emotional recession without you even knowing it. 5 key steps that can helpHow Do You Feel After Sex?The Importance of Recognizing Childhood Successes at SchoolYour morning coffee or tea linked to happiness? Child Abuse and Chronic Fatigue SyndromeGrieving: 7 tips to get you through the holidaysFeeling Depressed? Here's 1 practice that could begin to turn it aroundTurn your sleep problems into a dream of the past! 5 tips from a Psychologist and mindfulness-based stress reduction teacherIs Happiness Contagious? Here is one way you can catch itSuicide: Does a Person Have the Right to Take His Own Life?An ancient way that has been called an "antidote" to fearSuspended From College For Expressing Suicidal Ideation (a reaction to an NPR radio story)I dare you: Using gratitude to support your mental healthIs the economy ruining your holiday season? 5 steps to a better holiday How you can be triggered into depression…without even knowing itHow to take advantage of the holidays and stave off stress, anxiety, and depressionA few clues that you’re entering into Seasonal Affective Disorder and what you can do about itA Natural Approach to Treating Depression Web SeriesBreaking down Barack Obama’s Psychology of Hope and how it may help you in trying times…Depression and SpiritualitySuicide Among White Middle Class IncreasesTranscranial Magnetic Stimulation device for treatment-resistant Major Depression just approved by the FDANational Depression Screening Day is just around the corner (October 10th!)Press "D" for Depression TherapyFew People Who Are Depressed Receive Mental Health Services"Guns and Suicide" article and Comments: What about the anger?An Interview with James Gordon, MD on Mind-Body Medicine and his book 'Unstuck'Regulating Brain Chemicals and Mental Illnesses with WINCS and DBSPleasure...Depression’s Kryptonite?World Suicide Prevention Day... September 10, 2008Mood Changes Linked To Seasonal Fluctuations in SerotoninAn Interview with Ronald Dworkin, MD, Ph.D. on Artificial Happiness (using antidepressants to mask ordinary unhappiness)Is Chronic Pain and Depression destroying your life? In Pursuit of Happiness, Part 3 Three things you can do immediately when you find yourself getting depressedWhy Is Happiness So Difficult to Achieve? Part 1The Influence of Culture on the Expression of DepressionLow Self Esteem: Eating or Spending to EscapeDepression and Diabetes: A Deadly CombinationMood Change Doesn't Happen QuicklyLife: Are We Listening and Living?New Hope for People with Major DepressionDepression: A New Frontier in It's TreatmentEconomic and Mental DepressionWhisk Those Blues AwayThe Relationship Between Exercise and MoodAntidepressants No Better Than Placebo Says A New Study, But It's Really More Complicated Than That... Retail Therapy, Sadness and Spending: The Study Behind the StoryI'm So Bored!Psychotherapy: A More than Oncer Per Week CommitmentFeeling down during the winter? You may have SAD (seasonal affective disorder)Diabetes, Depression and LifeElliott Smith and the gift of Vulnerability MusicWomen and DepressionMental Health, Memory and Social InteractionProblems Connected with Anti depressant medicationsPain and DepressionFibromyalgia, It is not just in your headA Combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy & Antidepressant Medication Works Best for Depressed AdolescentsDogs, Depression and Other Health Issues: Is there something to be gained from Illness?Anti depressants and young people: an issue revisitedAnniversary ReactionsBut, It Still Hurts: Pain-Depression-PainMassive update for our Depression topic centerThe Long Term Effects of BullyingCorrelation: Siblings and Depression?Interpersonal Therapy May Prevent Future Depressive EpisodesThe Negative Effects of Pain on DepressionDepression and Heart DiseaseOur Bipolar Topic Center has been UpdatedPODCAST: Dying To Live - Interview with a heart transplant patientNational Depression Screening Day is Tomorrow!Behavioral Therapy May Be Better Than Cognitive Therapy for Severe DepressionPerfectionism probably creates a Vulnerability for DepressionFeeling Depressed: Influenced by the Attitudes and Opinions of Others?Botox fights Depression?How Prozac gets its groove on.Chronic cortisol exposure causes mood disordersHeart Attacks and Young Women == DepressionSSRI antidepressants raise risk of premature birthAdult ADHD: Difficult to Diagnose and Often MisunderstoodNYTimes has story on Deep Brain Stim for DepressionBrain Scan Predicts Who Will Benefit From Cognitive TherapyThe Midlife Crisis: A Case of Extreme StressTreating Mother's Depression Helps Protect Their ChildrenMaintanence medications ward off senior depression relapseDepression predicts mental decline in seniorsUnmasking Mental IllnessBlunt InstrumentsCosmo Magic to Cyclothymic: Highs, Lows and States of FlowThe Biochemical - Psychosexual Revolution: Getting Up and Close while Being Down and OutListening to Readers on Prozac, Depression & the Medical System: Part IListening to Readers on Prozac, Depression & the Medical System: Part IIThe Liberating and Entangling Webs of Technology, Depression and ProzacTop Twelve Tips for Beating (Mostly) Moderate Chronic Clinical DepressionReader Feedback on the Depression SeriesComing Out of the Depression ClosetGoing Postal: The Road to Depression and SalvationRunning On Fifty VideosLinksBook ReviewsSelf-Help Groups |
| | | |
Antidepressant Use in U.S. Has Almost Doubled(HealthDay News)
by By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
Updated: Aug 3rd 2009
MONDAY, Aug. 3 (HealthDay News) -- 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.
Lower rates of increases in antidepressant use were seen in blacks (3.61 percent in 1996 versus 4.51 percent in 2005) and in Hispanics (3.72 percent versus 5.21 percent in 2005), the researchers found.
Still, about the same number of people were being treated for depression (26.25 percent in 1996 versus 26.85 percent in 2005), indicating that the drugs were being used to treat other diagnoses, such as anxiety and other mood disorders.
At the same time, those receiving antipsychotic medications increased from 5.46 percent to 8.86 percent, and the proportion of people using psychotherapy dropped from 31.5 percent to 19.87 percent.
"The reasons [for the growth] are unclear but they may include the introduction of new antidepressants over the last 10 to 12 years or so and a broadening in the clinical indications of antidepressant treatment. Years ago, these drugs were largely focused on depression. Today, more different conditions are treated with antidepressants," Olfson said. "There's also been an increase in direct-to-consumer advertising and a lessening of the stigma associated with seeking mental health care."
Indeed, a study released last week found that roughly five of six Americans now have a positive opinion on psychiatric medications, a marked increase from about a decade ago.
Depression may also be more common in the population, or at least more people may be acknowledging it and seeking help, the authors suggested.
"It is encouraging that there is apparently an increased awareness and increased willingness to seek assistance for emotional distress . . . and that is a big step forward," said Dr. Kathryn J. Kotrla, chairwoman and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.
"I think part of the increased rate is increased awareness, as well as national depression screening all over the country," added Dr. M. Beatriz Currier, an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "Education and screening decrease stigma."
Of concern, however, was the finding that the majority of Americans taking antidepressants were not receiving care from a psychiatrist.
Also troubling was not knowing what the prescriptions were being written for exactly.
"One wonders if the medication is being used as a possible panacea for a number of psychosocial issues which might be better served by counseling," Kotrla said.
"Who's really taking these medications?" Caine said. "It's not clear that it makes anyone healthier. That's a fundamental issue that we don't know. We don't have any way of telling if this made people's lives better."
A second study in the same issue of the journal followed 306 preschoolers aged 3 to 6 years for 24 months and found that depression in this group tends not to just go away as the child gets older, but can linger as a chronic condition.
"This is exciting because it gives us an opportunity for early intervention," Kotrla said.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more on depression. This article: Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved. |
