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In 1996, just over one in 20 Americans was taking an antidepressant. By 2005, that figure doubled, to one in 10, or 27 million people, according to figures published this week in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The use increased across all age groups, including kids.

What’s more, people treated with antidepressants were also increasingly likely to get powerful antipsychotic medications at the same time. Nearly 9% of antidepressant users were prescribed antipsychotics in 2005, compared to 5.5% in 1996.

In addition, the proportion of individuals going to therapy while taking psychiatric medication declined to 1 in 5 patients in 2005, from nearly 1 in 3 in 1996, despite research evidence that for some patients, combination of medication and therapy is more effective than either therapy or drugs alone. Roughly the same percentage of individuals sought out therapy over the 10-year period, but the number who using antidepressants grew much faster.

It isn’t clear from the data whether the rising trend reflects overmedication of people with depression, or whether they were previously undertreated, according to Mark Olfson, one of the study authors and a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University. However, he told the Health Blog that “the findings likely reflect that more people with clinically significant depression are receiving care.”

At the same time, Olfson said the study points out area of concern: that the vast majority of psychiatric meds are prescribed by docs who don’t specialize in psychiatric care.

“The fact that some of these people receiving both treatments, not by psychiatrists but by primary care physicians — that’s an issue that warrants close attention,” said Olfson. “There are safety risks given the greater complexity” of a condition that needs dual medications.

Olfson has received research funding from the NIH as well as several drug makers. This study, based on a survey conducted by a federal agency, was funded by a grant from the federal government and by the the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, a nonprofit group that says it gets donations from “individuals, families, foundations and corporations.”

Image: iStockphoto

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More Patients Took Antidepressants & Antipsychotics Together