I
have chosen to read and review an article entitled National Patterns in Antidepressant Medication Treatment. This
article was written by Mark Olfson, MD, MPH and Steven C. Marcus, PhD. The
article was in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of General Psychiatry. This
article examined the trends in antidepressant use in the years 1996 and 2005.
Antidepressants have become the most
commonly prescribed class of medications in the United States, surpassing
antihypertensive agents in 2005. In 2001 – 2003, 20.1% of nonelderly adults
received mental health treatment each year. This was an increase from the 12.2%
in 1990 – 1992. The sources of data used were the 1996 and 2005 Medical
Expenditure Panel Surveys (MEPs). These surveys asked for all prescribed
medicines associated with each health care as well as the reason for each
outpatient visit during the reference period. The reported psychotropic
medications were then classified into three different classes. These classes
were 1) antidepressant, anxiolytic, or antipsychotic, 2) mood stabilizers and
3) stimulants. Each of these three classes had subclasses. Between 199 and
2005, the overall annual rate of antidepressant treatment of persons 6 and
older, increased from 5.84% to 10.12% per 100 persons. This translates to an
increase from 13.3 million people in 1996 to 27.0 million in 2005 that are
treated with antidepressants. During this period, the use of serotonin reuptake
inhibitors and other newer antidepressants became increasingly common; whereas
tricyclic antidepressants became less common. There was an increase in
percentage of antidepressant users treated with antipsychotic medications, but
a decrease in percentage of those who received inpatient treatment of
psychotherapy. Of the persons prescribed antidepressants in 2005, 34.59%
treated by psychiatrists and 7.46% treated by non psychiatrist physicians were
also prescribed mood stabilizers or antipsychotic medications.
In conclusion, there was a
significant increase in the percentage of Americans prescribed antidepressants.
Also, the study performed may be inaccurate due to several reasons. The data
collected in the MEPs may be inaccurate. Another reason is that it is uncertain
if all persons prescribed antidepressants met the criteria for diagnosis.
Third, some groups of individuals such as homeless, nursing home residents, and
inmates are not included in the surveys. Fourth, there may be incomplete
information in the MEPs. These studies show that antidepressant therapy is
becoming more accepted in the United States. It also shows that there is more
focus on pharmacological treatment rather than psychological care.
Works
Cited
Olfson,
M., & Marcus, S. (2009; 66 (8)). National Patterns in Antidepressant
Medication Treatment. General Psychiatry , 848-856.
.Plagiarism:
Using someone else's work without giving proper credit, is plagiarism. If you use my work, please reference it.
