Antidepressant prescriptions to youths spiked during pandemic, study finds

Main Points

Significant rise in antidepressant prescriptions among youths during the pandemic.

The study shows a significant rise in antidepressant prescriptions among youths during the Covid-19 pandemic, with a particularly sharper increase observed in females.

Increased accessibility of telehealth services contributed to the surge in antidepressant prescriptions.

The increased accessibility of telehealth services during the pandemic made it easier for individuals to obtain and maintain antidepressant prescriptions, contributing to the surge in dispensing rates.

Antidepressant dispensing rate surged during and after the pandemic.

Dr. Kao-Ping Chua and coauthors found that from 2016 to 2022, the monthly dispensing rate of antidepressants increased by 66.3%, a trend that surged during and after the pandemic.

Antidepressants are part of the treatment course for mental health conditions like depression.

Mental health conditions like depression are often treated with antidepressants as part of the treatment course, which aligns with the observed trend in antidepressant prescription rates.

Varying impacts of the pandemic on mental health and access to mental health care between genders.

The differences in findings between male and female adolescents could indicate varying impacts of the pandemic on mental health and access to mental health care.

Insights

The rate of prescribing antidepressants to youths spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many young people have reported having poor mental health during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Their experiences are affirmed by a new study finding that the rate of prescribing antidepressants to this group also spiked during the same period.

The dispensing rate of antidepressants for young people aged 12 to 25 rose nearly 64% faster than normal since the Covid-19 outbreak in the US in March 2020.

The number of young people between the ages 12 and 25 receiving antidepressants was already growing before the pandemic. But since the Covid-19 outbreak in the United States in March 2020, the dispensing rate rose nearly 64% faster than normal, according to the study.

Females showed a more significant increase in antidepressant dispensing rate compared to males after March 2020.

In female adolescents ages 12 to 17, the dispensing rate increased 130% faster after March 2020. For female young adults ages 18 to 25, the rate spiked by 60%. In contrast, there was essentially no change in antidepressant dispensing rate after March 2020 in male young adults, and a surprising decline in antidepressant dispensing rate in male adolescents.

The Covid-19 pandemic led to an increase in prescribing antidepressants, as indicated by one of the study's authors.

“I found myself, during the pandemic, prescribing antidepressants at rates that I never had before,” said Dr. Kao-Ping Chua, who decided to conduct the research to help inform the conversation about the country’s youth mental health crisis.

The study is the first of its kind to be specific to adolescents and young adults and to analyze data beyond 2020.

A few earlier studies assessed changes in the post-pandemic dispensing rate nationally, but to the authors’ knowledge, the new study is the first one specific to adolescents and young adults, and to analyze data beyond 2020.

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URL

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/26/health/antidepressant-use-spikes-after-pandemic-youth-wellness/index.html

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