Anti-Depressant Use Is Skyrocketing in the U.S.
If you have wondered whether your neighbor or co-worker seems a bit blue, it may not be your imagination. A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that a significant number of American adults are feeling depressed and more Americans than ever before are taking anti-depressants to overcome the symptoms of depression.
The CDC has been looking into the use of anti-depressant medications in the U.S. The organization analyzed two major national surveys to reach conclusions about who is taking these medications. The CDC looked over the National Health and Nutrition Survey (2005-2008) along with the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (January 2009-December 2009). Based on its analyses of these two surveys, the CDC identified the extent of anti-depressant use, who is most likely to use anti-depressants and who seems most at risk for suicidal ideation.
According to this report:
- 11 percent of Americans over the age of 12 are currently taking anti-depressants.
- The majority (60 percent) of U.S. adults who take these medications do so for a minimum of two years.
- 14 percent of those taking the drugs have been doing so for more than 10 years.
- Another 8 percent take the medication even though they show no symptoms of depression. This figure could be explained by people using anti-depressants to fight anxiety or by continued use of the medication by people who were depressed at some point in the past.
- Perhaps most startling of all is the 400 percent increase in anti-depressant use overall during the past 10 years.
Women and Caucasians are the most apt to take anti-depressants. The CDC reports that 23 percent of women ages 40 to 59 are taking anti-depressants. Generally speaking, women are two and a half times more likely than men to take the mood-lifting drugs, whatever the severity of the depression. Furthermore, the report goes on to state that white people (13.6 percent) are more likely than either Mexican-Americans (2.7 percent) or black people (3.9 percent) to use anti-depressants.
You might think that the figures point to full waiting rooms in the offices of mental health professionals, but that is not the case. Many people are taking mood-enhancing medications, but very few are talking with a trained mental health counselor. In fact, the research showed that less than one-third of people who take the drugs had visited with a mental health provider within the past year. And people taking more than one mood-boosting medication (known as polypharmacy) are even less likely to be seeking mental health help.
When one considers depression, concerns naturally tend toward the worst outcome – suicide. The CDC examined this and learned that in 2009, 2.2 million American adults planned to commit suicide. Roughly half of that number (1 million) followed through and made a suicide attempt. The report cautioned that many factors contribute to a person’s tendency toward suicide, but that gender is one factor. Women are more likely to medicate for depression while men are more likely to commit suicide.
The report revealed that adults in the Midwestern and Western part of our nation are more likely to consider suicide than are their counterparts in the northeast and south, and younger adults (ages 18 to 29) are more apt to do so than adults over the age of 30.
While the number of Americans currently taking anti-depressants may seem alarmingly high, the CDC report’s authors claim that many more who would receive benefit from the medications aren’t taking them. According to these researchers, only one-third of American adults with the symptoms of depression are currently taking anti-depressant drugs. That leaves a significant number of adults battling symptoms of depression.
