Antidepressant Use Up In United States, Except Among Minorities

Surprise! According to an article in the August issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, antidepressant use in the United States has doubled since 1996. Ethnic minorities were the exception this 10+ year trend.

When we read this, we immediately thought back to Otty Sanchez, the woman who mutilated and killed her baby after having suffered from a history of improperly treated mental illness. Her case brought to mind the reality that many Latinos - and other ethnic minorities in the U.S. - do not receive or seek out help when it comes to their mental health. 

A study conducted in December of 2005 confirmed what many suspect continues to be true today - that Latinos in this country are not receiving adequate care when it comes to diagnosing and treating depression:

Rates of receipt of any depression care and guideline-level depression care were low, and Latinos were less than half as likely as whites to receive such care, even after the analyses controlled for independent predictors (that is, younger age, higher educational level, current unemployment, more comorbid medical illness, and a diagnosis of a depressive or anxiety disorder). The likelihood of receiving any care or care that met guidelines did not significantly varyaccording to whether clinics served a low, moderate, or high percentage of Latinos.

Now, we also know that there are many cases were people have been overly or otherwise improperly medicated. We hope that there will eventually be a balance between draining people of their emotions in order to drain money out of their pockets and with providing great health care to those who may not have the proper information or resources immediately available to them.

Antidepressant Use Almost Doubles In United States [The Inquisitr]