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Taking anti-depressants

October 24, 2011 by · Comments Off on Taking anti-depressants 

Taking anti-depressantsTaking anti-depressants, About 1 in 25 adolescents in the United States are taking antidepressants, according to a new government study considered the first statistics on this age group.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday the figure for 12 to 17. It is based on surveys and projections of depression of about 12,000 adolescents in the U.S. and adults during the years 2005 and 2008.

The study found that about 1 in 10 adults taking antidepressants. And perhaps more than, the researchers said that only a third of people in the study with symptoms of depression were taking medication.

The finding suggests that “there are a lot of people who are seriously ill do not receive treatment,” said Laura Pratt, CDC epidemiologist who led the research.

Interestingly, rates of antidepressant use were about the same in different income groups, although previous research has shown higher rates of depression among the poor, said Pratt.

Researchers do not know why, but other experts have pointed out that the poor have less access to medical services and physicians who prescribe the drugs. Also, some people may think they can overcome depression themselves or not want to be labeled as depressed.

Women taking antidepressants than men, whites and use them more than blacks or Mexican-Americans, the study also found.

In addition, over 60 percent of Americans who take antidepressant medication taken two years or more, and 14 percent had been taking medicine for 10 years or more.

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