The medicating of Americans for mental disorders has continued to grow; this statistic is based on a November 16 report by Medco Health Solutions, Inc., a pharmacy-benefit manage, over the past decade,. One in five adults is currently taking at least one psychiatric drug (i.e., antidepressants, antipsychotics, and anti-anxiety medication). Locally, for example, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reports that 9% of county residents have been diagnosed at least one with a depressive disorder. Among the most striking findings of the report was a big increase in the use of powerful antipsychotic drugs across all ages, as well as growth in adult use of drugs for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a condition typically diagnosed in childhood. From 2001 to 2010, use of ADHD drugs such as Concerta and Vyvanse tripled among those aged 20 to 44; furthermore, it doubled over that period among women in the 45-to-65 group. Overall use of psychiatric medications among adults grew 22% from 2001 to 2010. The new figures are based on prescription-drug pharmacy claims of 2 million U.S. insured adults and children. “People from all walks of life are taking medications for mental health conditions,” said David Muzina, a psychiatrist and head of Medco's Neuroscience Therapeutic Resource Center, whose team compiled the report.
While the use of most psychiatric drugs grew markedly, declines occurred in antidepressant use in children and anti-anxiety drug use in seniors; this decrease might be due to concerns over possible side effects. The patterns are consistent with, but more pronounced than, published findings from national government data, which tend to have a lag time. A recent Archives of General Psychiatry paper, which reviewed data before 2005, found that about 10% of the population took an antidepressant. The Medco study found that about 10% of adult men used antidepressants in 2010; however, 21% of adult women did.
Psychiatric medications are among the most widely prescribed and biggest-selling class of drugs in the U.S. In 2010, Americans spent $16.1 billion on antipsychotics to treat depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, $11.6 billion on antidepressants and $7.2 billion on treatment for ADHD. Whether psychiatric drugs are used appropriately has been a longstanding concern among U.S. healthcare professionals and policy makers. Evidence continues to grow regarding possible serious side effects, particularly among children and seniors. For example, in 2004 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required a “black box” warning (its most serious) about the possible increase in suicidal thoughts in children and teens taking antidepressants, and in 2005 it warned about the increased risk of death with certain antipsychotics in elderly patients with dementia. The new report provides evidence that the FDA warnings have had an impact: Antidepressant use in children peaked in 2004 and dropped last year to 2001 levels, approximately 2.5% for girls and just over 2% for boys. Despite those decrease, a marked increase occurred in the use of medications to treat ADHD among young and middle-aged adults, particularly in women. Use in the over-65 population also increased about 30% for men and women between 2001 and 2010.
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