A study available on the American Institute of Health’s National Bookstore site shows that doctors tend to diagnose depression and prescribe antidepressants too easily. “Over the past two decades, the use of antidepressants has skyrocketed. One in ten Americans takes these types of drugs and among women between the ages of 40 and 50 the figure is one in four,” remind him New York Times. Among the 5,639 patients diagnosed as depressed in 2009, only a third of them, or 38.4%, actually suffer from depression, according to the author of the study, Dr. Ramin Motjabai.
“This study is not the first to report cases of misdiagnosis regarding depression. Several evaluation studies have reported that an accurate diagnosis does not happen often, in large part because serious depression is so rare in this environment “, notes the American daily. Indeed, if the Americans use too much antidepressants, they could well approach France, considered as the largest consumer in the world of psychotropic drugs.
According to Dr Motjabai, “It is not just doctors who are prescribing more and more, it is patients who are asking for them more and more. Feelings of sadness, the stress of everyday life and relationship problems can cause a feeling of defeat which may very well be fleeting. But Americans increasingly want to get rid of it with the help of drugs. “
