Study: US Anti-Depressant Use Doubles From 1996 to 2005

A new study is out today in the Archives of General Psychiatry telling the world what many of you already know: that the use of anti-depressants has exploded upward from the 90s to the 00s.

From Reuters:

"About 6 percent of people were prescribed an antidepressant in 1996 -- 13 million people. This rose to more than 10 percent or 27 million people by 2005, the researchers found."

Yes, America is one doped-up nation.

Researchers tried to account for this increase during a time period when DTC advertising of prescription drugs was legalized (in 1997) and when anti-depressants were heavily-advertised.

"The survey did not look at why, but the researchers made some educated guesses. It may be more socially acceptable to be diagnosed with and treated for depression, they said. The availability of new drugs may also have been a factor.

"'Although there was little change in total promotional spending for antidepressants between 1999 ($0.98 billion) and 2005 ($1.02 billion), there was a marked increase in the percentage of this spending that was devoted to direct-to consumer advertising, from 3.3 percent ($32 million) to 12 percent ($122.00 million),' they added."

I'm sure this increase occured for a host of reasons, but at the end of the day those DTC ads and astroturfing campaigns had to play a huge role.

One doctor whom Reuters quoted decried the trend of more and more anti-depressants being used:

"Dr. Eric Caine of the University of Rochester in New York said he was concerned by the findings. 'Antidepressants are only moderately effective on population level,' he said in a telephone interview.

"Caine, who was not involved in the research, noted that several studies show therapy is as effective as, if not more effective than, drug use alone.

"'There are no data to say that the population is healthier. Indeed, the suicide rate in the middle years of life has been climbing,' he said."

I've made these points before, so it's nice to see someone from the research world echoing my thoughts (and many of your thoughts as well).