Antidepressants (74%, or 32.7 million) was the most commonly dispensed medication in 2021–22, followed by Antipsychotics (10% or 4.3 million), Anxiolytics (7% or 3.0 million), Psychostimulants, agents used for ADHD and nootropics (6% or 2.6 million) and Hypnotics and sedatives (4% or 1.8 million) (Figure PBS. 4).
During 2015–2018, 13.2% of Americans aged 18 and over reported taking antidepressant medication in the past 30 days. Antidepressant use was higher among women than men in every age group. Use increased with age, in both men and women. Almost one-quarter of women aged 60 and over (24.3%) took antidepressants.
Share of the population reporting chronic depression (2019)
It is interesting that the top two countries Iceland (15.6 per cent) and Portugal (12.2 per cent) in reporting chronic depression also had the highest antidepressant consumption with 153 DDD and 131 DDD in 2020 respectively.
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
This class includes sertraline, citalopram, escitalopram, paroxetine, fluoxetine and fluvoxamine. SSRIs are: the most commonly prescribed antidepressants in Australia. often a doctor's first choice for most types of depression.
The most commonly prescribed antidepressant is the serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) venlafaxine, followed by the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) citalopram (Allergan, data on file, February 2017).
There are many reasons for increased use of these drugs. In the past, doctors prescribed them mostly for severe depression. Then, they began to offer them to patients with mild depression and other conditions like anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and PTSD.
Perhaps the most recognizable among them is Prozac (fluoxetine). It's still the best option for many people, but since it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1987, Prozac has been joined by a variety of other antidepressant medications.
Overall, these data do not indicate that there's over-prescribing of antidepressants in Australia. A second potential measure of the value or otherwise of this increase in antidepressant use is its impact on suicide rates.
SSRIs are among the most frequently sold drugs in Australia. Sertraline (sold under the brand name Zoloft) and escitalopram (Cipralex and Lexapro) are both among Australia's 10 most commonly prescribed medications.
As per the data released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the use of antidepressants increased nearly two and half times across Europe between 2000 and 2020, with Iceland in the top spot, followed immediately by Sweden and Norway, with Finland and Denmark coming in at number eight and nine.
Most of the stigma surrounding antidepressants is due to the misconceptions about this medication. Many choose to focus on the negative side effects of antidepressants rather than treating depression itself.
Americans buy much more medicine per person than any other country. The number of prescriptions has swelled by two-thirds over the past decade to 3.5 billion yearly, according to IMS Health, a pharmaceutical consulting company. Americans devour even more nonprescription drugs, polling suggests.
A common myth is that you need to take antidepressants forever. Many people use antidepressants for a few months and then slowly wean their way off the medication. Others take antidepressants for years before they discontinue the medication.
Under American Psychiatric Association guidelines, if you are taking an antidepressant for your first depressive episode, you should stay on it for at least 4 or 5 months after your symptoms of depression stop.
Some believe it is unlikely that antidepressants cause any permanent changes to brain chemistry in the long term. The evidence seems to indicate that these medications cause brain changes that only persist while the medication is being taken or in the weeks following withdrawal.
Four new antidepressants have been recently marketed in Australia. They are the selective reversible monoamine oxidase A inhibitor, moclobemide, and the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), fluoxetine, paroxetine and sertraline.
SSRIs are the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressants. This is because they're effective and well-tolerated antidepressants with little side effects. With many SSRIs available as generic products, this medication class typically costs less. SNRIs and bupropion are also common choices for similar reasons.
SSRIs are usually the first choice medicine for depression because they generally have fewer side effects than most other types of antidepressant.
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) tricyclics. monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
SSRIs. This group of drugs, including fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), fluvoxamine (Luvox), citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Cipralex) and sertraline (Zoloft), is usually the first choice for treatment of depression and anxiety disorders.
Amitriptyline antidepressant drugs recalled because of a nitrosamine impurity - Canada.ca.
A key reason more women are prescribed drugs for anxiety than men is that “women are more comfortable seeking help for mental health conditions”. Men are less likely to request treatment for the condition than women “because of the stigma associated with poor mental health”, he added.
SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2005–2008. Overall, 40% of females and 20% of males with severe depressive symptoms take antidepressant medication (Figure 3).