10% of Americans Take Antidepressants

US Antidepressant Use Rises

The number of Americans using antidepressants doubled from 1996 to 2005, while the number seeing psychiatrists continued to fall, a study shows. About 10 percent of Americans—or 27 million people—were taking antidepressants in 2005, according to research published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The findings highlight the need for doctors who are not psychiatrist to be trained to diagnose and manage depression so patients get effective treatment, said the study’s lead author, Mark Olfson, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute. (USA Today, 8/03/09)