United States: As explained as shocking news, the rising situation of increasing antidepressant prescriptions in adolescents and young adult women has come to light in the United States.
It was suggested by a University of Michigan-led study findings, which studied the data from a national database. It found that about 92 percent of the prescriptions were given at US pharmacies from 2016 to 2022, as the news release from Michigan Medicine at the University’s health system reported.
It was noted that while there was a rising trend of consuming antidepressants among people ages 12 and 25 when the pandemic was yet to begin, the trend has increased 64 percent faster during the post-pandemic phase after March 2020, as suggested by the research published in Pediatrics, which is a peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, as reported by the Detroit News.
As per the release, this rate has risen 130 percent among young women aged between 12 and 17 post-March 2020, and it is 60 percent faster in the case of those women aged 18 and 25. Researchers also suggest that the overall rate jump is driven by women.
Kao Ping Chua, the lead author and a pediatrician at UM Health’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, said, “Multiple studies suggest that rates of anxiety and depression among female adolescents increased during the pandemic,” and “These studies, coupled with our findings, suggest the pandemic exacerbated a pre-existing mental health crisis in this group.”
What do the CDC’s findings reveal?
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the national survey report of 2021, which came out, indicated that close to 33 percent of the students in high school complained of a declining psychological health record during the time that the COVID-19 era was going around the world. In addition, 44 percent of them have already every year been asserting their feelings of sadness or hopelessness.
Antidepressant cases declined among males
There has been a rise in antidepressant prescriptions which has rose sharply among young women and girls. However, there has been less change in male young adults since the post-pandemic started. Also, it declined further among young male adolescents, as found by a recent study.
Chua, who added that he found the male statistics surprising, stated, “It’s hard to believe this decline reflects improved mental health, as reported by the Detroit News.
Reasons for fewer cases reported among Male counterparts: Experts
Chau mentioned that it could be the case that male adolescents did not attend their physical exams and other visits to health care when the pandemic was at its peak. Hence, the diagnosis of their anxiety and depression, as well as the prescription of antidepressants, were reported less.
Additionally, the prevalence of virtual learning during and post-pandemic has made it harder for school staff and teachers to measure mental health problems faced by schoolgoers.
However, it is further said that the long waiting lists for psychotherapy that happened during the pandemic could also help as an indicator of the reason for the rise in antidepressants provided, which rose drastically during that time, as stated by Chau in a statement released, as reported by the Detroit News.
Chau added, “In my primary care clinic, I often heard from patients and families that they were facing six- to nine-month wait lists for therapy during the pandemic and In those situations, it didn’t make sense to withhold antidepressants and recommend a therapy-only approach.”