More and more people are taking antidepressants

More and more doctors are prescribing antidepressants to their patients.

According to a study by the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), more and more doctors are prescribing medicines for depression. Preferably, however, no drugs are prescribed on a plant basis, but antidepressants. This comes from the health report of the TK health insurance.

It is noticeable that especially the amount of prescription antidepressants has almost doubled in the last ten years. Striking: The number of prescribed antidepressants has risen sharply, especially in Bavaria. Here were prescribed the most drugs for the depressive syndrome. The lowest rate was in Saxony-Anhalt, where the fewest antidepressants were prescribed by doctors.

Why in Bavaria, the odds are so high, could not explain the spokeswoman for the health insurance, Wiebke Arps: "The high antidepressant volume in Bavaria is especially against the background of astonishing that the professionals in the state, in addition to Baden-Württemberg and Saxony-Anhalt, the fewest mental illnesses have ".

Also, the number of disability certificates due to mental illness (depression or anxiety disorders) has increased according to the TK Health Report 2010 by almost 40 percent.

Here it becomes clear that, above all, an increase in the volume of work and stress are likely to be the cause of the sharp rise in drug use. Further studies in this area had established a connection. The trend can also be observed in the States. There, the consumption of psychotropic drugs has been growing steadily for decades. (Sb)

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