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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

Popular Antidepressants Not Always Best Choice for Seniors

Posted 2 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Aug. 2 – New research suggests that hugely popular antidepressants such as Prozac and Effexor might not always be the best choice for seniors, since they seem to have more side effects than older antidepressants do. Prozac (fluoxetine) and Effexor (venlafaxine) belong to the class of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and are generally considered safe and effective. But a new British study appearing in the Aug. 2 issue of the BMJ finds that an older group of drugs known as tricyclic antidepressants may be safer in people over the age of 65. Still, several factors need to be considered when choosing an antidepressant, possible side effects being just one of them. "The choice of class of antidepressant is a complex decision, and some evidence is still lacking to help with that choice in older patients," said study author Carol Coupland, associate ... 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

Diet, Meds and Smoking Linked to Eye Disease Risks

Posted 14 Jun 2010 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, June 14 – A healthy diet helps guard against cataracts, while certain medications raise the risks of this common cause of vision loss, two new studies suggest. And a third study finds that smoking increases the risk of age-related macular degeneration, another disease that robs people of their sight. The first study found that women who eat foods that contain high levels of a variety of vitamins and minerals may be less likely to develop nuclear cataract, which is the most common type of age-related cataract in the United States. The study is published in the June issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology. The researchers looked at 1,808 women in Iowa, Oregon and Wisconsin who took part in a study about age-related eye disease. Overall, 736 (41 percent) of the women had either nuclear cataracts evident from lens photographs or reported having undergone cataract extraction. ... 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

Psych Drugs Gaining Widespread Acceptance

Posted 16 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, July 31 – A growing number of Americans now have a positive opinion on psychiatric medications, a new study contends. About five out of six people surveyed felt psychiatric medications could help people control psychiatric symptoms, but many also expected the medications could help people deal with day-to-day stresses, help them feel better about themselves and make things easier with family and friends. "People's attitudes regarding psychiatric medications became more favorable between 1998 and 2006," said study author Dr. Ramin Mojtabai, an associate professor in the department of mental health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. Mojtabai expressed concern, however, that people's attitudes were increasingly positive, even in situations where there might not be a proven benefit to the drugs. "My hope would be for people to be more discriminating in ... Read more

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

FDA Medwatch Alert: Antidepressant Medication Products

Posted 2 May 2007 by Drugs.com

[Posted 05/02/2007] FDA notified healthcare professionals that the Agency proposed that makers of all antidepressant medications update the existing black box warning on the prescribing information for their products to include warnings about the increased risks of suicidal thinking and behavior in young adults ages 18 to 24 years old during the first one to two months of treatment. The proposed labeling changes also state that scientific data did not show this increased risk in adults older than 24 years of age and that adults 65 years of age and older taking antidepressants have a decreased risk of suicidality. The proposed updates apply to the entire category of antidepressants. Individuals currently taking prescribed antidepressant medications should not stop taking them and should notify their healthcare professional if they have concerns. Manufacturers of antidepressant ... Read more

Related support groups: Depression, Lexapro, Zoloft, Cymbalta, Effexor, Seroquel, Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, Elavil, Remeron, Luvox, Nardil, Symbyax, Parnate

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