Antidepressant use doubles in U.S., study finds

Antidepressant use doubles in U.S., study finds

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Use of antidepressant drugs in the United States doubled between 1996 and 2005, probably because of a mix of factors, researchers reported on Monday.

About 6 percent of people were prescribed an antidepressant in 1996 -- 13 million people. This rose to more than 10 percent or 27 million people by 2005, the researchers found.

"Significant increases in antidepressant use were evident across all sociodemographic groups examined, except African Americans," Dr. Mark Olfson of Columbia University in New York and Steven Marcus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia wrote in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

"Not only are more U.S. residents being treated with antidepressants, but also those who are being treated are receiving more antidepressant prescriptions," they added.

More than 164 million prescriptions were written in 2008 for antidepressants, totaling $9.6 billion in U.S. sales, according to IMS Health.

Drugs that affect the brain chemical serotonin like GlaxoSmithKline's Paxil, known generically as paroxetine, and Eli Lilly and Co's Prozac, known generically as fluoxetine, are the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressant. But the study found the effect in all classes of the drugs.

Olfson and Marcus looked at the Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys done by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, involving more than 50,000 people in 1996 and 2005.

"During this period, individuals treated with antidepressants became more likely to also receive treatment with antipsychotic medications and less likely to undergo psychotherapy," they wrote.

SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE

The survey did not look at why, but the researchers made some educated guesses. It may be more socially acceptable to be diagnosed with and treated for depression, they said. The availability of new drugs may also have been a factor.

"Although there was little change in total promotional spending for antidepressants between 1999 ($0.98 billion) and 2005 ($1.02 billion), there was a marked increase in the percentage of this spending that was devoted to direct-to consumer advertising, from 3.3 percent ($32 million) to 12 percent ($122.00 million)," they added.

Dr. Eric Caine of the University of Rochester in New York said he was concerned by the findings. "Antidepressants are only moderately effective on population level," he said in a telephone interview.

Caine, who was not involved in the research, noted that several studies show therapy is as effective as, if not more effective than, drug use alone.

"There are no data to say that the population is healthier. Indeed, the suicide rate in the middle years of life has been climbing," he said.

Olfson and Marcus said out-of-pocket costs for psychotherapy and lower insurance coverage for such visits may have driven patients away from seeing therapists in favor of an easy-to-prescribe pill.

The rise in antidepressant prescriptions also is seen despite a series of public health warnings on use of antidepressant drugs beginning in 2003 after clinical trials showed they increased the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children and teens.

In February 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration added its strongest warning, a so-called black box, on the use of all antidepressants in children and teens.

Teen Drug Use

May 21, 2009

New Partnership Research: More Parents Aware of Teen Rx Drug Abuse. Are You?

A new national study of parents’ attitudes about teen drug abuse released by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and the MetLife Foundation shows strong increases in parents’ awareness of teen abuse of prescription medications.
The 14th annual Parents Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) revealed that the number of parents who mistakenly believe that abusing prescription medicines is “much safer” than using illicit street drugs dropped by nearly half in a single year’s time — from 19 percent in 2007 to just ten percent in 2008. Major progress was also reported regarding beliefs about the addictive potential of some prescription medicines when misused. In 2007, 24 percent of parents believed that intentional abuse of prescription medicines would not be addictive. In 2008, that number decreased significantly to 11 percent.
This heightened awareness has not yet resulted in an increase in the number of parents talking with their kids about the risks of prescription drug abuse, although the study did show that parent-teen discussions about the risks of abusing over-the-counter cough medicine have increased nearly 18 percent, with 65 percent of parents reporting these discussions, versus 55 percent in 2007.

Suboxone: Miracle drug or more of the same?

As you may have heard, there is a new drug that is being used nationwide to assist opiate addicts with their withdrawal symptoms while trying to kick their habit. Buprenorphine hydrochloride, better known by its brand name, Suboxone, is a narcotic that is available for prescription from a regular doctor, as opposed to methadone, which is available only at approved clinics.
What does it do? In simple terms, it alleviates the addict from typical opiate withdrawal symptoms such as body ache, nausea, cravings, insomnia, cold and hot sweats and many other absolutely horrific symptoms. Sounds great, right? Yes and no.
Yes, this is a wonderful new drug when used properly, but like any other narcotic, if misused and abused it too can become addictive.
It is extremely important to remember that opiate addiction is no simple matter. Opiate addicts are still in need of intensive inpatient treatment, with or without Suboxone. The problem we are seeing with this new miracle drug is that doctors are freely prescribing Suboxone to opiate addicts with no program of treatment to go with it. When this happens, not only does the addict transfer addictions from opiates to Suboxone, but many times they are combining this new drug with their already out of control addiction to heroin, Oxycontin, etc. One may see proof of this in the headlines from Google News:

"They allege he stole the prescription medication Suboxone from a residence in Lisbon earlier this month."

"Suboxone is an opiate therapy drug, and “what we’re finding is, just like methadone, it is being widely diverted and sold, just like methadone,” Crandall said, adding that one “can” get high off it."

"Police tell the Patriot-Ledger of Quincy that they raided the home at about 5 p.m. Tuesday and arrested 56-year-old Janet Evans and seized 70 small bags of heroin, Suboxone and Seroquel pills, marijuana, and a small amount of cocaine with a street value of about $1,500."

"Michael Wellman, 48, pleaded guilty to the three charges involving the prescription drugs Vicodin and Suboxone. He was arrested after police investigated the death of Aundrea Benson, 20, who died of a drug overdose in October."

This new epidemic was brought to my attention because as of late, I have been working with a plethora of families who are reaching out to Intervention 911 seeking advice and guidance about a loved one who is on Suboxone, but still seems to have a flourishing addiction. This is because Suboxone is not a miracle drug. Although the withdrawal symptoms may be alleviated for a time or the addict is not using nearly as much of their drug of choice, their addiction and the sickness that accompanies it is still alive and well. This drug is not an effective replacement for treatment and must be used ALONG WITH a program of recovery. Otherwise, we will continue to see what we are seeing now: prolonged addictions and no realistic, life of freedom in sight. A life lived dependent on any chemical is a life lived in bondage.
Our goal at Intervention 911 is to help families free themselves and their loved ones from the ties of addiction. This doesn't mean finding a less harmful alternative to opiates, it means getting to the core of the problem and dealing with the issues that are causing the addict to continue to use.