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Minorities, Medicare Recipients Less Likely to Get Antidepressants

Posted 9 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, April 9 – Hispanics and blacks are less likely to be prescribed antidepressants than whites, and Medicare and Medicaid patients are less likely to receive the drugs than those with private insurance, a new study says. University of Michigan School of Public Health researchers examined data from 1993 to 2007 and found that whites were 1.5 times more likely to receive antidepressants than blacks or Hispanics with major depression. The study also found that Medicare and Medicaid patients were 31 percent and 38 percent less likely to be prescribed antidepressants than privately insured patients. Race didn't play a role in the type of antidepressants prescribed to patients, but insurance did. Medicare and Medicaid patients were 58 percent and 61 percent less likely to receive newer antidepressants than privately insured patients. Newer types of antidepressants such as serotonin ... Read more

Related support groups: Depression, Lexapro, Zoloft, Cymbalta, Wellbutrin, Effexor, Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, Trazodone, Pristiq, Citalopram, Savella, Effexor XR, Amitriptyline

Fear of Antidepressants Keep Many From Disclosing Depression

Posted 13 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Sept. 13 – For a nation that seems ready to pop a pill for any ill, a new study suggests that the opposite seems true for some people with symptoms of depression, whose concerns about the side effects of antidepressants were the top reason they wouldn't disclose warning signs to their doctors. A phone survey of more than 1,000 adults who had previously participated in the California Behavioral Risk Factor Survey System, which probed depression-related beliefs, showed that 43 percent reported one or more reasons for not talking to their primary care physician about their depression. Nearly a quarter of them worried that their doctor would recommend antidepressants – the most frequently cited reason for withholding the information. Other stated barriers to sharing depressive symptoms included the belief that it's not a primary care physician's job to deal with emotional issues ... Read more

Related support groups: Depression, Lexapro, Zoloft, Cymbalta, Wellbutrin, Effexor, Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, Trazodone, Pristiq, Citalopram, Savella, Effexor XR, Amitriptyline

Parkinson's Drugs Linked to Behavior Problems in Study

Posted 30 Mar 2011 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, March 29 – Parkinson's disease drugs called dopamine agonists appear to cause impulse control problems in almost one-quarter of patients, says a new study. Previous research has linked dopamine agonists, which include Mirapex (pramipexole) and Requip (ropinirole), to impulse control disorders, such as gambling addiction and hypersexuality, and to compulsive behaviors, such as binge eating, overspending and excessive computer use. In this study, Mayo Clinic researchers analyzed Parkinson's disease patient records over two years. "What we found was that as many as 22 percent of patients during that two-year period had a new-onset impulse control disorder," lead investigator and neurology fellow Dr. Anhar Hassan said in a Mayo Clinic news release. The higher the dose of dopamine agonist, the more likely a patient was to develop an impulse control disorder, the researchers found. ... Read more

Antidepressant Use Rising as Psychotherapy Rates Fall

Posted 6 Dec 2010 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Dec. 6 – Even as fewer Americans have sought psychotherapy for their depression, antidepressant prescription rates have continued to climb in recent years, a new survey reveals. "This is an encouraging trend as it suggests that fewer depressed Americans are going without treatment," said study author Dr. Mark Olfson, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City. "At the same time, however, the decline in psychotherapy raises the possibility that many depressed patients are not receiving optimal care." "While progress is being made in increasing the availability of depression care, a mismatch is opening up between clinical evidence and practice," Olfson cautioned. "For many depressed adults and youth, a combination of psychotherapy and antidepressants is the most effective approach. Yet, only about one-third of ... Read more

Related support groups: Depression, Lexapro, Zoloft, Cymbalta, Wellbutrin, Effexor, Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, Trazodone, Pristiq, Citalopram, Savella, Effexor XR, Amitriptyline

Parkinson's Drugs Tied to Compulsive Behaviors

Posted 10 May 2010 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, May 10 – Medicines used to treat Parkinson's disease may increase the risk of impulse control disorders, such as problem gambling, compulsive shopping and binge eating, researchers warn. In a new study that included 3,090 patients being treated for Parkinson's at 46 movement disorder centers in the United States and Canada, the researchers found that 13.6 percent of the patients had impulse control disorders. These impulse disorders included gambling (5 percent), compulsive sexual behavior (3.5 percent), compulsive shopping (5.7 percent) and binge eating (4.3 percent), and nearly 4 percent of the patients had two or more of these disorders. Impulse control disorders were more common among patients taking dopamine agonist medications (17.1 percent) than in those not taking the drugs (6.9 percent), the study authors found. Other factors associated with impulse control disorders ... Read more

Cutting Parkinson's Drug Dose Linked to Withdrawal Effects

Posted 14 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 13 – Reduced dosages of dopamine agonists, drugs routinely used to treat Parkinson's disease, can cause symptoms similar to those experienced by addicts in withdrawal, such as anxiety, panic attacks, pain, dizziness and drug cravings, researchers say. The symptoms of what the researchers have dubbed "dopamine agonist withdrawal syndrome" have been linked to a disruption in levels of dopamine in the brain, according to the study published in the Jan. 12 issue of the Archives of Neurology. "Like cocaine and methamphetamines, dopamine agonists work by stimulating the reward pathways in the brain," senior study author Dr. Melissa J. Nirenberg, said in a news release from Weill Cornell Medical Center. "For this reason, it makes sense that they would engender similar withdrawal symptoms, particularly in those with high cumulative drug exposure," explained Nirenberg, associate ... Read more

Antidepressant Use in U.S. Has Almost Doubled

Posted 16 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Aug. 3 – Antidepressant use among United States residents almost doubled between 1996 and 2005, along with a concurrent rise in the use of other psychotropic medications, a new report shows. The increase seemed to span virtually all demographic groups. "Over 10 percent of people over the age of 6 were receiving anti-depression medication. That strikes me as significant," said study author Dr. Mark Olfson, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City. According to background information in the study, antidepressants are now the most widely prescribed class of drugs in the United States. The expansion in use dates back to the 1980s, with the introduction of the antidepressant Prozac (fluoxetine). The study found that 5.84 percent of U.S. residents aged 6 and over were using antidepressants in 1996, compared with ... Read more

Related support groups: Depression, Lexapro, Zoloft, Cymbalta, Wellbutrin, Effexor, Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, Trazodone, Pristiq, Citalopram, Savella, Effexor XR, Amitriptyline

Psychotropic Medications Associated With Risk of Falls in Older Adults

Posted 1 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com

CHICAGO, Nov. 23, 2009 - Older adults who take several types of psychotropic medications—such as antidepressants or sedatives—appear more likely to experience falls, according to an analysis of previous studies reported in the November 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. More than 30 percent of individuals older than 65 will fall at least once a year, and falls and their complications are the fifth-leading cause of death in the developed world, according to background information in the article. Each year, 85 percent of all injury-related hospital admissions and more than 40 percent of nursing home admissions are related to falls, and the annual costs related to falls and their complications are estimated to be in the billions of dollars worldwide. Both internal and external risk factors contribute to falls, and medications have previously been i ... Read more

Related support groups: Xanax, Lexapro, Zoloft, Cymbalta, Wellbutrin, Klonopin, Effexor, Prozac, Celexa, Valium, Paxil, Ambien, Ativan, Clonazepam, Trazodone

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Parkinson's Disease, Depression, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)