Wild Eggs

From Scientific American :

“Close to 10 percent of men and women in America are now taking drugs to combat depression. How did a once rare condition become so common?

“If statistics serve, we know a number of things about the Medicated American. We know there is a very good chance she has no psychiatric diagnosis. A study of antidepressant use in private health insurance plans by the New England Research Institute found that 43 percent of those who had been prescribed antidepressants had no psychiatric diagnosis or any mental health care beyond the prescription of the drug. We know she is probably female: twice as many psychiatric drugs are prescribed for women than for men, reported a 1991 study in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Remarkably, in 2002 more than one in three doctor’s office visits by women involved the prescription of an antidepressant, either for the writing of a new prescription or for the maintenance of an existing one, according to the ­Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We know that most likely a psychiatrist did not prescribe her antidepressants: family doctors frequently now prescribe such medications. We know that Julie in Iowa was far more likely to ask her doctor for an antidepressant after having seen it advertised on TV or in print; one fifth of Americans have asked their doctor for a drug after they have seen it advertised. And when Julie asked for her antidepressant, her doctor was likely to comply with the request, even if he or she felt ambivalent about the choice of drug or diagnosis.

“It is unlikely that the doctor spent much time talking to Julie about the nature of the drugs, the common side-effect profiles and the remote but potentially dangerous side effects. Based on taped sessions, a 2006 study at the University of California, Los Angeles, showed that when prescribing a new medicine, two thirds of doctors said nothing to the patient about how long to take the medication, and almost half did not indicate the dosage amount and frequency. Only about a third of the time did doctors talk about adverse side effects. In the case of antidepressants, failure to review possible side effects and to monitor the patient’s progress in the weeks and months after starting the drugs is deeply irresponsible. A 2004 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that “the risk of suicidal behavior is increased in the first month after starting antidepressants, especially during the first one to nine days.” Worse, there is no longer any need to deal with an actual physician: all these drugs are readily available, with a few clicks and a credit card.”

Read more at Scientific American …

Spread the love...