Americans – More Than 10% Now Using Antidepressants
The CDC says that more than 10% of Americans over the age of 12 are now using antidepressant medications. This is a 400% increase from 1994.
How common are antidepressants these days? Pretty common - in fact, according to data just released from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, in some demographics, such as amongst women between the ages of 40 and 59, about 1 in 4 are now on these medications.
Other statistics of note from the report which is based on survey data from 2005 to 2008 include:
- In total, 11% of Americans over the age of 12 now use antidepressant medications
- Only about a third of people with major depression use antidepressants
- Less than 1 in 3 taking antidepressants have seen a mental health professional within the last 12 months
- 23% of women between the ages of 40 and 59 use antidepressants
- 14% of whites use these medications, compared to 4% of blacks and 3% of Mexican Americans
- 1 in 25 teens between the ages of 12 and 17 now uses antidepressants
- Women are two and a half times a likely to use these medications as men
- 30% of those on antidepressants have been taking them for more than 2 years and just under 14% have been using them for more than 10 years.
The full data release can be viewed at the CDC’s Databriefs Section .
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