Antidepressant use doubles in U.S., study finds

Antidepressant use doubles in U.S., study finds
1 in 10 are taking medication to improve mood, fewer going to talk therapy
By Maggie Fox

updated 4:44 p.m. ET, Mon., Aug 3, 2009
WASHINGTON - Use of antidepressant drugs in the United States doubled between 1996 and 2005, probably because of a mix of factors, researchers reported on Monday.

About 6 percent of people were prescribed an antidepressant in 1996 — 13 million people. This rose to more than 10 percent or 27 million people by 2005, the researchers found.

"Significant increases in antidepressant use were evident across all sociodemographic groups examined, except African Americans," Dr. Mark Olfson of Columbia University in New York and Steven Marcus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia wrote in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
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