Posted on 11/04/2017 6:13:32 PM PDT by Mr. Mojo
Antidepressants were most common, followed by anxiety relievers and antipsychotics
One in six U.S. adults reported taking a psychiatric drug, such as an antidepressant or a sedative, in 2013, a new study found.
The new data comes from an analysis of the 2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), which gathered information on the cost and use of health care in the United States.
An earlier government report, from 2011, found that just over one in 10 adults reported taking prescription drugs for "problems with emotions, nerves or mental health," the authors wrote in a research letter published today (Dec. 12) in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
But that report, from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, didn't "provide information on which specific medications were more commonly used " or on how long they were used, said authors of the new study, Thomas Moore, a senior scientist at the Pennsylvania-based nonprofit organization the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, and Dr. Donald Mattison, the chief medical officer at the Canadian consulting company Risk Sciences International.
Moore and Mattison found that nearly 17 percent of adults in the U.S. reported filling at least one prescription for a psychiatric drug in 2013.
Antidepressants were the most common type of psychiatric drug in the survey, with 12 percent of adults reporting that they filled prescriptions for these drugs, the study said. In addition, 8.3 percent of adults were prescribed drugs from a group that included sedatives, hypnotics and anti-anxiety drugs, and 1.6 percent of adults were given antipsychotics, the researchers found.
Psychiatric drug use differed among adults of different ages, sex and race, the researchers found. For example, nearly 21 percent of white adults reported taking a psychiatric drug, compared with less than 9 percent of Hispanic adults, according to the report.
Older adults also reported a higher rate of psychiatric drug use. One-quarter of adults ages 60 to 85 reported taking at least one of these drugs, compared with less than 10 percent of adults ages 18 to 39, the researchers found. In addition, nearly twice as many women as men reported taking psychiatric drugs: 21 percent compared with 12 percent, according to the report.
Two antidepressants topped the list for the most commonly used psychiatric drugs: sertraline hydrochloride, which goes by the brand name Zoloft, and citalopram hydrobromide, or Celexa.
Alprazolam, or Xanax, was the most common drug from the sedative, hypnotic and anti-anxiety category, the study said. This medication was the third most common psychiatric drug overall, following Zoloft and Celexa, according to the report.
Other leading drugs included Ambien, which is a hypnotic sleeping pill, and the antidepressants Prozac and Desyrel, the report said.
The researchers noted that because the survey data included information on only a single year, it was difficult to determine how long people had been prescribed different psychiatric drugs. However, more than eight in 10 adults who were taking psychiatric drugs reported long-term use, the researchers wrote.
For antidepressants, there is limited information available about how long an individual should stay on the drug, Moore and Mattison wrote. For certain drugs in the sedative, hypnotic and anxiolytic category, however, people can become dependent, the researchers noted.
To improve the safety of psychiatric drugs, Moore and Mattison suggested increasing the emphasis on prescribing these medications at the lowest effective dose and continually re-assessing the need to keep individuals on the drugs.
The analysis in question was done in 2013, so I'd guess that it's at least 1 out of every 5 now, considering the widespread epidemic of TDS.
Caffeine?
Dave’s not here.
Lots of people these days are zombies, taking all of the above. And of those, at least 80% female.
Fake news. studies lie.
Everyone’s on drugs, everyone has STDs, everyone hates Trump.
I believe the number is higher than that.
A lot of people are taking toxic stuff.
I work with a number of people whose personalities can dramatically change from day to day. Just not normal. I know nothing about their medical history, but I feel confident in saying that on some days, they clearly do not take their medicine.
This explains a lot. Many of our clients are just .... not right. One woman speaks in a monotone and perseverates. Another is waaaaay too cheerful and talks really really fast. Then there’s my SIL who is typically normal, but occasionally calls me and talks and talks and talks. The last time this happened I timed her. She talked (actually bitched and complained) for 20 minutes without one sound from me. I finally broke into her monologue at the 20 minute mark (I was going to be late for work). This just isn’t normal.
I read somewhere, and I haven’t been able to confirm this right now, but .5% experience violent behavior .
The math becomes easy.
330M population USA
1/6
55M on Psychiatric Drug
.5%
275,000 will experience violent behavior
In other words, due to the 1 in 6 Americans Taking a Psychiatric Drug, expect to see 275,000 violent acts.
Especially alcohol
“The Violence-Inducing Effects of Psychiatric Medication”
http://kellybroganmd.com/the-violence-inducing-effects-of-psychiatric-medication/
re: your SIL
We just had to fire someone like that. She was hired based on perceived potential, but she didn’t have the skills expected (she knew it and we knew it — we were willing to give her a chance and were open about this). So, she needed training. But she wouldn’t listen to anyone about anything. She just wanted to talk. Talk and talk and talk.
It was very hard to ever get a word in edgewise, and if you ever could, and tried to explain how she wasn’t approaching assignments in a reasonable way, she’d cut you off within 10 seconds, hold up a hand and say, “I get it — I get it — I get it — I get it — I get it.”
She was never going to get it, so we let her go. Her medication needed adjustment. Clearly.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) MedWatch system that collects adverse drug reports revealed that between 2004 and 2012, there were 14,773 reports of psychiatric drugs causing violent side eff ects including: 1,531 (10.4 percent) reports of homicidal ideation/homicide, 3,287 (22.3 percent) reports of mania and 8,219 (55.6 percent) reports of aggression.
Bingo. I think the monotone is often from antipsychotics.
I know somebody who when she sings or recites something is always a word behind, very monotone and strung out.
Scientific American recently reported on a study of the antidepressants paroxetine (Paxil) and fluoxetine (Prozac) involving more than 25,000 subjects, which showed that one out of every 250 were involved in “a violent episode,” including 31 assaults and one homicide
I know somebody like that. She’s clearly dysfunctional yet thinks SHE’S the perfect one and knows everything about everything. Her crappy life is thanks to other people, ya know.
That is right, another round, dilly dilly.
“Homicides and assaults resulting from medication may occur in less than 1% of the population taking (or withdrawing from) particular medications. However, if ½ % of the 13% of the US adult population taking antidepressants[10] became involved in violence, this would be about 172,000 people. If 1% of that violence was deadly, 1,720 people would be affected.”
Ah ha...
if ½ % of the 13% of the US adult population taking antidepressants became involved in violence, this would be about 172,000 people. If 1% of that violence was deadly, 1,720 people would be affected.”
1,720 would be deadly
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.