11% of Americans over the age of 12 need antidepressants because their Brain Chemicals are out of balance, and antidepressants will bring those Brain Chemicals back Into balance.
The United States CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has;
And you can get a pdf of this stinker, (with the embedded graphs we didn't post) at:
PDF Version 
(768 KB)
(768 KB)
NCHS Data Brief
Number
76, October 2011
Antidepressant Use in Persons Aged 12 and Over: United States,
2005–2008
On This Page
PDF Version (768 KB)
Laura A. Pratt, Ph.D.; Debra J. Brody, M.P.H.; and
Qiuping Gu, M.D., Ph.D.
Key findings
Data from the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Surveys, 2005–2008
Eleven
percent of Americans aged 12 years and over take antidepressant medication.
Females
are more likely to take antidepressants than are males, and non-Hispanic white
persons are more likely to take antidepressants than are non-Hispanic black and
Mexican-American persons.
About
one-third of persons with severe depressive symptoms take antidepressant
medication.
More
than 60% of Americans taking antidepressant medication have taken it for 2
years or longer, with 14% having taken the medication for 10 years or more.
Less
than one-third of Americans taking one antidepressant medication and less than
one-half of those taking multiple antidepressants have seen a mental health
professional in the past year.
Antidepressants were the third most common
prescription drug taken by Americans of all ages in 2005–2008 and the most
frequently used by persons aged 18–44 years (1).
From 1988–1994 through 2005–2008, the rate of antidepressant use in the United
States among all ages increased nearly 400% (1).
This data brief discusses all antidepressants taken,
regardless of the reason for use. While the majority of antidepressants are
taken to treat depression, antidepressants also can be taken to treat anxiety
disorders, for example. The report describes antidepressant use among Americans
aged 12 and over, including prevalence of use by age, sex, race and ethnicity,
income, depression severity, and length of use.
Keywords: prescription medication, depression, National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey, mental health
About one in 10 Americans aged 12 and over takes
antidepressant medication.
1
Significantly different from age group 18–39.
2 Significantly different from age groups 40–59 and 60
and over.
3 Significantly different from
females.
4 Significantly different from age
group 60 and over.
NOTE: Access data
table for Figure 1 [PDF - 12 KB]
SOURCE:
CDC/NCHS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2005–2008.
Overall,
females are 2½ times as likely to take antidepressant medication as males.
However, there is no difference by sex in rates of antidepressant use among
persons aged 12–17 (Figure 1).
Twenty-three
percent of women aged 40–59 take antidepressants, more than in any other
age-sex group.
Among
both males and females, those aged 40 and over are more likely to take
antidepressants than those in younger age groups.
Non-Hispanic white persons are more likely to take
antidepressant medication than persons of other races and ethnicities.
1Significantly
different from non-Hispanic white population.
NOTE: Access data
table for Figure 2 [PDF - 11 KB].
SOURCE:
CDC/NCHS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2005–2008.
Fourteen
percent of non-Hispanic white persons take antidepressant medications compared
with 4% of non-Hispanic black and 3% of Mexican-American persons (Figure 2).
There
is no difference by income in the prevalence of antidepressant usage.
Females are more likely than males to take antidepressant
medication at every level of depression severity.
1
Statistically significant trend.
2 Significantly different from females.
NOTE: Access data
table for Figure 3 [PDF - 11 KB].
SOURCE:
CDC/NCHS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2005–2008.
Overall,
40% of females and 20% of males with severe depressive symptoms take
antidepressant medication (Figure 3).
More
than one-third of females with moderate depressive symptoms, and less than
one-fifth of males with moderate depressive symptoms, take antidepressant
medication.
Use of
antidepressant medication rises as severity of depressive symptoms increases
among both males and females.
About 14% of Americans taking antidepressant medication have
done so for 10 years or longer.
NOTE: Access data
table for Figure 4 [PDF - 12 KB].
SOURCE:
CDC/NCHS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2005–2008.
More
than 60% of Americans taking antidepressant medication have been taking it
longer than 2 years (Figure 4).
In
general, there was no significant difference between males and females in
length of use of antidepressants.
Less than one-third of persons taking a single antidepressant
have seen a mental health professional in the past year.
1 Statistically significant trend.
2 Significantly different from
females.
NOTE: Access data
table for Figure 5 [PDF - 11 KB].
SOURCE:
CDC/NCHS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2005–2008.
Among persons
taking antidepressants, approximately 14% take more than one antidepressant;
the percentage was similar for males and females (data not shown).
Less
than one-half of persons taking multiple antidepressants have seen a mental
health professional in the past year (Figure 5).
Among
those taking multiple antidepressants, males are more likely than females to
have seen a mental health professional in the past year.
The
likelihood of having seen a mental health professional increases as the number
of antidepressants taken increases.
Summary
In 2005–2008, 11% of Americans aged 12 and over took
antidepressant medication. There were significant differences in antidepressant
medication usage rates between groups. Females were 2½ times as likely as males
to take antidepressants. Antidepressant use was higher in persons aged 40 and
over than in those aged 12–39. Non-Hispanic white persons were more likely to
take antidepressants than other race and ethnicity groups. Other studies have
shown similar age, gender, and race and ethnicity patterns (2,3).
There was no variation in antidepressant use by income group. Among persons
taking antidepressants overall, there was no significant difference in length
of use between males and females. Among persons taking antidepressants, males
were more likely than females to have seen a mental health professional in the
past year.
About 8% of persons aged 12 and over with no current
depressive symptoms took antidepressant medication. This group may include
persons taking antidepressants for reasons other than depression and persons
taking antidepressants for depression who are being treated successfully and do
not currently have depressive symptoms.
Slightly over one-third of persons aged 12 and over
with current severe depressive symptoms were taking antidepressants. According to
American Psychiatric Association guidelines, medications are the preferred
treatment for moderate to severe depressive symptomatology (4).
The public health importance of increasing treatment rates for depression is
reflected in
Healthy People 2020,
which includes national objectives to increase treatment for depression in
adults and treatment for mental health problems in children (5).
Definitions
Prescription drug use: National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey (NHANES) participants were asked if they had taken a
prescription drug in the past month. Those who answered "yes" were
asked to show the interviewer the medication containers of all prescription
drugs. For each drug reported, the interviewer recorded the product's complete
name from the container.
Antidepressant medication: Prescription drugs were
classified based on the three-level nested therapeutic classification scheme of
Cerner Multum's Lexicon (6).
Antidepressants were identified using the second level of drug categorical
codes, specifically code 249.
Income group: Defined by dividing family
income by a poverty
threshold based on the size of the family. Income groups included
less than 100% of the poverty level, 100% to less than 200% of the poverty
level, and 200% or more of the poverty level.
Severity of depressive symptoms: Measured in NHANES using the
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ–9), a nine-item screener that asks questions
about the frequency of symptoms of depression over the past 2 weeks (7).
PHQ–9 is based on the diagnostic criteria for a major depressive episode in the
Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (8).
Major depression includes mood symptoms such as feelings of sadness or
irritability, loss of interest in usual activities, inability to experience
pleasure, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, and thoughts of death or suicide;
cognitive symptoms such as inability to concentrate and difficulty making
decisions; and physical symptoms such as fatigue, lack of energy, feeling
restless or slowed down, and changes in sleep, appetite, and activity levels.
In PHQ–9, the response categories "not at
all," "several days," "more than half the days," and
"nearly every day" are given a score ranging from 0 (not at all) to 3
(nearly every day). A total score is calculated ranging from 0 to 27. The following
four categories of depressive symptom severity are based on the total score
from the PHQ–9 screening instrument (7):
None or
minimal: 0–4
Mild:
5–9
Moderate:
10–14
Severe:
15 or more
Length of use of antidepressants: Evaluated by asking participants
how long they had been taking the medication. Among persons taking more than
one antidepressant, the one they had taken the longest was used for Figure 4.
Contact with a mental health professional: Defined by the question:
"During the past 12 months, have you seen or talked to a mental health
professional such as a psychologist, psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse, or
clinical social worker about your health?"
The data do not indicate whether persons who
contacted a mental health professional actually began treatment for depression.
The question also does not ask about mental health treatment received from
primary care providers.
Data sources and methods
NHANES is a continuous survey conducted to assess the
health and nutrition of Americans. The survey is designed to be nationally
representative of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. Survey
participants complete a household interview and visit a mobile examination
center (MEC) for a physical examination and private interview. The annual
interview and examination sample includes approximately 5,000 persons of all
ages. In 2005–2006, non-Hispanic black persons, Mexican-American persons,
adults aged 60 and over, and low-income persons were oversampled to improve the
statistical reliability of the estimates for these groups. In 2007–2008, the
same groups were oversampled with one exception: Rather than oversampling only
the Mexican-American population, all Hispanic persons were oversampled.
This report is based on the analysis of data from
interviews in the household and in the MEC. The questions on prescription drug
use were asked in the household interview, and the questions on depression were
asked in the MEC. Questions were administered in English and Spanish.
Of the 13,897 persons aged 12 and over who
participated in the NHANES medical examination, analyses for this data brief
included 12,637 persons with information on medication usage and depression
severity. Estimates by income group were based on 11,827 persons who also
reported their family income.
NHANES sample examination weights, which account for
the differential probabilities of selection, nonresponse, and noncoverage, were
used for all analyses. Standard errors of the percentages were estimated using
Taylor series linearization, a method that incorporates the sample design and
weights.
Overall differences between groups were evaluated
using the chi square statistic. In cases where the chi square test was
significant, differences between subgroups were evaluated using the univariate t statistic. A test for trends was
done to evaluate changes in the estimates by depression severity in Figure 3
and by number of antidepressants taken in Figure 5.
All significance tests were two-sided using p < 0.05 as the level of significance, with no adjustment
for multiple comparisons. All comparisons reported are statistically
significant unless otherwise indicated. Data analyses were performed using SAS
version 9.2 (SAS Institute, Cary, N.C.) and SUDAAN version 9.0 (RTI
International, Research Triangle Park, N.C.).
About the authors
Laura A. Pratt is with the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, Office of
Analysis and Epidemiology. Debra J. Brody and Qiuping Gu are with the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics,
Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.
References
National
Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2010: With special feature
on death and dying. Table 95. Hyattsville, MD. 2011.
Olfson
M, Marcus SC. National patterns in antidepressant medication treatment. Arch
Gen Psychiatry 66(8):848–56. 2009.
Paulose-Ram
R, Safran MA, Jonas BS, Gu Q, Orwig D. Trends in psychotropic medication use
among U.S. adults. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 16(5):560–70. 2007.
American
Psychiatric Association. Practice
guideline for treatment of patients with major depressive disorder, third
edition. Washington, DC. 2010.
U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion. Healthy People
2020 summary of objectives: Mental health and mental disorders.
Multum
Lexicon database. In: National Health
and Nutrition Examination Survey—1988–2008 data documentation, codebook, and
frequencies. 2010.
Kroenke
K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The PHQ–9: Validity of a brief depression severity
measure. J Gen Intern Med 16(9):606–13. 2001.
American
Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders,
fourth edition. Washington, DC. 2000.
Suggested citation
Pratt LA, Brody DJ, Gu Q. Antidepressant use in
persons aged 12 and over: United States, 2005–2008. NCHS data brief, no 76.
Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2011.
Copyright information
All material appearing in this report is in the
public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as
to source, however, is appreciated.
National Center for Health Statistics
Edward J. Sondik, Ph.D., Director
Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D., Associate Director for
Science
Office
of Analysis and Epidemiology
Diane M. Makuc, Dr.P.H., Acting Director
Division
of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys
Clifford L. Johnson, M.S.P.H., Director
File
Formats Help:
Page last updated: October 19, 2011
Page last reviewed: October 19, 2011
Content source: CDC/National
Center for Health Statistics
Page maintained by: Office of Information Services
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And here for our post game wrap up is America's Best Known Psychic Researcher and Spook Busting Interventionist:
11%: What's your analysis Zelda?
11%: What's your analysis Zelda?
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