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Many young people report that their mental health has worsened during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Their experience is backed up by new research showing that antidepressant prescription rates for this group also skyrocketed over the same period.
The number of young people aged 12 to 25 taking antidepressants was already increasing before the pandemic. But since the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in the United States in March 2020, dispensing rates have risen nearly 64% faster than usual, according to a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. . (Prescription in this study refers to antidepressants administered to patients by retail stores, mail order stores, or long-term care pharmacies. Use of drugs once purchased is not reflected.)
“What really caught my attention was the gender differences,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Kao-Ping Chua, of the results. Chua is a primary care pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
Among female adolescents aged 12 to 17, dispensing rates have increased 130% faster since March 2020, Chua said. For female young adults ages 18 to 25, the rate jumped 60%.
“In stark contrast,” Chua added. “What we’re seeing is that since March 2020, there has been essentially no change in antidepressant rates among young adult men, and an alarming decline in antidepressant rates among adolescent men. That means we are doing it.”
While several previous studies have assessed changes in national dispensing rates post-pandemic, to the authors’ knowledge the new study focused specifically on adolescents and young adults and analyzed data from 2020 onwards. This is the first study.
“During the pandemic, we found ourselves prescribing antidepressants at an unprecedented rate,” she said, deciding to conduct the study to disseminate information about the country’s youth mental health crisis. Chua said after making the decision.
“I can’t tell you how many pediatricians have told me that they feel like they’re just a mental health clinician at this point,” he says.
Using the IQVIA Longitudinal Prescription Database, Chua and his co-authors found that monthly dispensing rates increased by 66.3% from 2016 to 2022, trending rapidly during and after the pandemic . The IQVIA database is a long-term patient prescription database based on retail pharmacy data.
“By the second year of the pandemic, there was an increase in emergency department visits for poor mental health among young people, and an increase in emergency department visits for suicide attempts and self-harm, especially among adolescent women.” Youth Dr. Neha Chaudhary said. She is a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and chief medical officer of Modern Health, a mental health care platform for businesses that supports their employees. She was not involved in her research.
“As a child and adolescent psychiatrist who has witnessed firsthand the effects of the pandemic on young people’s mental health, the study results are not surprising,” Chaudhary said in an email.
The authors are unable to fully explain their findings. However, in the context of deteriorating mental health in young people, “the prescription of antidepressants is important, as these drugs are often part of the treatment course for moderate to severe cases of mental health conditions such as depression.” We see a similar trend in the rates,”’ Choudhary said.
Additionally, increased awareness and reduced stigma about mental health has led to more young people seeking help and exposing them to negative current events, she added.
In addition to these and the stressors of the pandemic such as loss of loved ones, transition to virtual learning, and lack of social life, some unique factors regarding the state of mental health care during the pandemic may be related to an increase in dispensing rates. .
Chua said the rise of telemedicine has made it easier to obtain and maintain prescriptions for antidepressants, whereas previously patients had to visit a health care provider in person.
But that advantage also had its disadvantages. In normal times, for patients with mild or moderate depression, health care providers often recommend a trial of non-medication treatment, Chua said. However, during the pandemic, unprecedented demand for virtual care has increased wait times and made treatment-only recommendations less feasible. As a result, health care providers cannot assume that patients will be able to begin treatment immediately and are increasingly prescribing antidepressants as a bridge.
Differences in findings among male adolescents or young adults do not prove that their mental health has improved, but rather indicate that men are becoming increasingly disconnected from the mental health system. That could be “a very worrying possibility,” Chua said.
Experts discouraged blaming the need for or use of drugs. Antidepressant use is common, and “there’s no need to feel weird about taking an antidepressant if you need it,” Chua said.
“These drugs are often very effective,” he added. “These make people feel a little more normal and able to endure life’s ups and downs. People’s quality of life, mood and rates of self-harm have improved significantly.”
In some cases, antidepressants can be lifesaving, Chaudhary said.
But “there are legitimate concerns about antidepressants,” Chua said. “They don’t start out trivial. For young people, there are (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) black box warnings about increased suicidal ideation after starting antidepressants.”
Potential side effects usually subside within a few weeks. If not, your health care provider may recommend another medication.
But considering the risks, she says, “When a child has mental health concerns, parents need to have an honest conversation about the pros and cons of antidepressants, and honestly, they have no choice but to simply stop the medication or… rather than pushing in the direction of,” Chua said. .
Rapid changes in a child’s behavior or mood, including sleep, social life, attitude, school performance, concentration, and interest in activities, may indicate the need for antidepressants, but a child psychiatrist may We can recommend the best treatment plan and answer any questions you may have. Experts say there are also questions about medicine.
read more: More than grumpy?How to tell if your child has a mental disorder
Know that antidepressants are usually started only when the benefits outweigh the risks, says Chaudhary.
“Young people are suffering and it is our responsibility to help them,” Chaudhary said. “If you are young, or have young people in your life, consider checking out how things are going. It only takes one passionate person to change the trajectory of someone’s life. is necessary.”