New Medical Study: 38% of current antidepressant users never having met criteria for MDD, OCD, panic disorder, social phobia, or GAD; and 69% of current antidepressant users never having met the criteria for MDD in their lifetimes
The newly published medical study is titled “Antidepressant Use and Lifetime History of Mental Disorders in a Community Sample: Results From the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study“
It was prepared by: Yoichiro Takayanagi, MD, PhD; Adam P. Spira, PhD; O. Joseph Bienvenu, MD, PhD; Rebecca S. Hock, PhD; Michelle C. Carras, BA; William W. Eaton, PhD; and Ramin Mojtabai, MD, PhD, MPH
“Results: Thirteen percent of participants at Wave 4 reported currently using antidepressant medications. Among antidepressant users, 69% never met criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD); and 38% never met criteria for MDD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social phobia, or generalized anxiety disorder in their lifetime. Female gender, Caucasian ethnicity, recent or current physical problems (eg, loss of bladder control, hypertension, and back pain), and recent mental health facility visits were associated with antidepressant use in addition to mental disorders.
Conclusions: Many individuals who are prescribed and use antidepressant medications may not have met criteria for mental disorders. Our data indicate that antidepressants are commonly used in the absence of clear evidence-based indications.”
Medical Study findings like this just send me for a loop.
I recently found out that a friend was given a prescription for High Blood Pressure meds. The pills are hard to tolerate. I believe that she suffers from Sleep Apnea. Sleep Apnea can affect & raise your blood pressure (I can post about Medical Studies which confirm that). A simple Sleep Lab Test would have confirmed her Sleep Apnea. She has all the classic Sleep Apnea symptoms. Her meds may not harm her (in the short term), but they will not address her Sleep Apnea, which in my opinion could be the underlying cause of her high blood pressure.
Sorry for the rant. Back to our regularly scheduled programming…
Click on this line to view the published study at Psychiatrist dot com.
One of the interesting findings of this study:
“Nonetheless, like past studies,4–6 we found that a substantial proportion of antidepressant users do not have a history of meeting criteria for MDD or the anxiety disorders assessed, even when these disorders are evaluated by a cumulative approach. Our data thus support the view that antidepressants are commonly prescribed for patients who may have mild psychiatric symptoms but do not meet the full criteria for depression or other common mental disorders for which these medications are indicated.”
The following is another interesting finding from this study:
“38% of current antidepressant users never having met criteria for MDD, OCD, panic disorder, social phobia, or GAD; and 69% of current antidepressant users never having met the criteria for MDD in their lifetimes”
Posted by: Vincent Banial
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