CCHR FAILED as GPs prescribe soaring numbers of drugs for depression

GPs prescribe soaring numbers of drugs for depression


One in 10 adults has been diagnosed with depression while the number of prescriptions issued for antidepressant drugs has risen fourfold in the last 20 years, according to the latest figures.



Use of drugs such as Prozac has soared during recession Photo: PETER STEINER

By Tim Ross, Social Affairs Editor






A new analysis from the Office for National Statistics has found rising rates of depression, anxiety and conditions such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) among adults in England since the early 1990s.



But the rate at which doctors are prescribing drugs to treat depression has increased far more sharply than the number of adults being diagnosed with these conditions.



Mental health groups said the figures suggested some GPs were too reliant on the cheap option of prescribing drugs, rather than addressing underlying psychological issues through counselling or therapy.



The Office for National Statistics analysis showed that doctors in England issued 39.1 million prescriptions for anti-depressant drugs such as Prozac in 2009, four times higher than the 1991 level of 9 million.



However, the proportion of adults diagnosed with a common mental disorder, such as depression, phobias, OCD, panic disorder and anxiety, rose far more modestly over a similar timescale, from 15.5 per cent in 1993 to 17.6 per cent in 2007.



Related Articles

•Depression is still a dark destroyer



07 Jan 2010

•Commonly used antidepressants may raise heart disease risk



01 Dec 2010









Women were significantly more likely than men to be diagnosed with a mental disorder, while one in 10 adults in England was diagnosed with depression last year, the figures showed.



Three-quarters of all adults assessed as being in need of treatment were not receiving either medication or counselling.



Bridget O'Connell, head of information at the mental health charity, Mind, said anti-depressant drugs could be crucial for some sufferers but should not be the first port of call.



The rise in the number of prescriptions could be due to growing numbers of people with depression, partly as a result of the economic downturn, she said. Patients may also be more willing to seek help, while doctors are better at recognising symptoms of depression.



We welcome the fact that people are seeking help and hope that it is a sign that stigma is reducing, she said. However, antidepressants are not recommended as the first port of call for mild to moderate depression - watchful waiting and talking therapies are.



Unfortunately, we know that in many cases a lack of access to talking treatments, such as counselling, means that doctors are left with little choice but to prescribe medication.



One in five patients is forced to wait more than two years to see a counsellor or psychotherapist, she said.



Philip Hodson, a fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, which has 36,000 members, said the huge rise in prescriptions for anti-depressants must partly reflect poor medical practice.



There is a role for anti-depressant therapy in conjunction with talking therapy, he said. But the fact remains that probably a third of all patients get nothing from anti-depressants. It is a cheap alternative to prescribe but in the long term it is a false economy.



In England, the highest rates of mental health problems were among 45-54 year-olds, with one in five adults in this age group (20%) suffering a common disorder. This group has also experienced the largest rise in disorders since the early 1990s.



Rates of depression were lowest in Wales at 7.9 per cent. The figures also showed that more than 430,000 people took time off work with stress between 2007 and 2009.



Dr Clare Gerada, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said doctors were right to prescribe more antidepressants to patients, in higher doses and for longer.



Antidepressants make patients better, she said. Depression is a biological disorder caused by a deficiency of chemicals in the brain.



I think we were under-treating depression in the past. When I was a younger GP we might put patients on antidepressants for a month or two months. Now we put them on appropriate doses for longer periods of time anything up to a year or 18 months











http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8637944/GPs-prescribe-soaring-numbers-of-drugs-for-depression.html