Antidepressants taken by one in 10 European adults

By Admin
Ten percent of all middle-aged people in Europe took antidepressants in 2010, according to a new survey. The highest rate of antidepressant dependence...

Ten percent of all middle-aged people in Europe took antidepressants in 2010, according to a new survey.

The highest rate of antidepressant dependence was found to be in Portugal, which was closely followed by the UK and Lithuania.

Rates of antidepressant usage in the latter two countries were described by researchers as higher than normal and overall they said the results were concerning.

Findings also revealed that incidences of antidepressant usage were more common in women who were unemployed and divorced or separated.

READ MORE FROM THE WDM CONTENT NETWORK:

To read the latest edition of Healthcare Global, click here

The study was carried out by the University of Warwick who worked in partnership with IZA Institute in Bonn and over 30,000 European adults were the subjects of the study.

Andrew Oswald from the University of Warwick said in a media interview: “As we live in the richest and safest era in the history of humans, perhaps we are going to have to ask ourselves why one in ten of Europe’s middle-aged citizens need a pill to cope with life.”

“That is an awful lot of people relying on chemical happiness.”

The researchers believe that the results mirror the theory that people experience a ‘U-turn’ in regards to their happiness and well being.

The theory states that at the beginning and end of their lives people are fairly contented and settled but during their middle years they can become stressed at home and work which could lead to a mid-life crisis. 

Share

Featured Articles

Hyfe AI uses acoustic AI in its digital cough monitoring

Hyfe uses acoustic AI in its digital cough monitoring. Dr. Joe Brew, Co-Founder & CEO of Hyfe AI, tells us more about coughing technology post-COVID-19

Siemens: smart finance to help medical technology growth

Penny Pinnock, Business Development Manager at Siemens Financial Services UK, discusses how adopting digital technology can support the healthcare sector

Healthcare Digital news roundup: prostate cancer & AI

This week in Healthcare Digital, we heard from experts in the sector: Trevor Dearing from Illumio, Avenda Health’s Brit Berry-Pusey & Vish Charan of Abbott

Lexica shares post-COVID-19 digital healthcare trends

Digital Healthcare

Medical devices expanding senior healthcare innovation

Medical Devices & Pharma

Abbott’s CRM medical devices can help cardiac arrhythmia

Medical Devices & Pharma