Antidepressants: Most Prescribed Drug in the U.S.

About 11% of Americans aged 12 or older take antidepressant medications. The rate of antidepressant use in the U.S. has increased nearly 400% since 1988 (CDC: "NCHS Data Brief, No. 76," October 2011).

Antidepressants were the top most commonly prescribed drugs in America for all ages in the years 2006-2008, and (a very close) second in 2009 and 2010, with 253.6 million prescriptions in 2010 (Table 1). 

Two out of the top 10 most prescribed drugs are antipsychotics.

Table 1. Top Therapeutic Classes by Prescriptions.

Appendix notes:
Therapy classes defined using ATC defined product groups and synthesized based on proprietary IMS Health definitions. Report reflects Prescription-bound products including Insulins (and excludes other products such as OTC). Includes all prescriptions dispensed through retail pharmacies - including independent and chain drug stores, food store pharmacies and mail order as well as long-term care facilities. Prescription counts are not adjusted for length of therapy. 90-day and 30-day prescriptions are both counted as one prescription. Updated April 7, 2011

Other findings:

• 14% of non-Hispanic white persons take antidepressants compared with 4% of non-Hispanic black and 3% of Mexican-American persons.
• Antidepressants were most frequently used from 2005 to 2008 by people between 18 and 44. 
• Most people who take antidepressants do so to treat depression, but the drugs also are used for other disorders, such as anxiety (about 8% of people aged 12 and over who had no current depressive symptoms took antidepressant drugs). 
• Females are 2.5 times more likely to take antidepressants than are males. 40% of females and 21% of males with severe depressive symptoms take antidepressants. 
• 34% of severe, 28% of moderate, 19% of mild, and 7% of persons with no symptoms of depression take antidepressants.
• More than 60% of Americans on antidepressants have taken the drugs for two or more years, with about 14% taking the medication for a decade or more. 
• Less than 1/3 of people taking one antidepressant drug and less than 1/2 of those taking multiple antidepressant medications have seen a mental health professional in the past year. 
• 23% of women between 40 and 59 take antidepressants, more than in any other age-sex group.

SOURCE:
The Use of Medicines in the United States: Review of 2010: Report by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics.
CDC: "NCHS Data Brief, No. 76," October 2011.