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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
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
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
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