Antidepressant use rises by over 25% in just four year

The number has been rising for a few years in the area

NEW figures show SSRIs – selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which are used to tackle depression and anxiety – were prescribed 305,721 times in the West Leicestershire CCG area in the year ending in October 2019.

That is the equivalent of 76 prescriptions for every 100 people living in the area, exclusive analysis of OpenPrescribing figures reveals.

It does not mean that everyone in the area is on SSRIs, however, as one person can receive several prescriptions over the course of a year. Someone on a repeat prescription is counted every time their medicine is issued.

Nonetheless, the number of SSRI prescriptions in the West Leicestershire CCG area has increased by 27 per cent in just four years.

In the year to October 2015 there were a total of 227,731 or 60 for every 100 people.

The number has been rising year-on-year ever since.

SSRIs are widely used to treat depression and anxiety and a number of other mental health conditions.

These include obsessivecompulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, severe phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

They’re usually the first choice medication for depression because they generally have fewer side effects than other types of antidepressants.

SSRIs work by increasing serotonin levels in the brain.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter – a messenger chemical that carries signals between nerve cells in the brain – that is thought to have a good influence on mood, emotion and sleep.

After carrying a message, serotonin is usually reabsorbed by the nerve cells, in a process known as “reuptake”. SSRIs work by blocking or “inhibiting” that reuptake, meaning more serotonin is available to pass further messages between nearby nerve cells.

The rise in use of the drugs isn’t limited to West Leicestershire CCG.

In East Leicestershire and Rutland CCG, SSRIs were prescribed 225,022 times, or 67 for every 100 people. That figure was 22 per cent higher than the 177,470 times they were prescribed in 2014/15.

Leicester City CCG saw the third biggest increase in the area by 16 per cent.

Nationally, the number of SSRI prescriptions has increased by 25 per cent from 32 million items prescribed in 2014/15 (or 59 every 100 people) to 40 million in 2018/19 (or 71 for every 100 people).

Antonis Kousoulis, Director at the Mental Health Foundation

said: “An increase in prescribed SSRIs should not automatically be considered a negative thing. Improved mental health awareness and reduced stigma in our society means that more people are seeking medical help for mental health problems, which is a reason for an increase in prescriptions. Most SSRIs are prescribed by GPs who also provide referral to a range of other treatments like talking therapies.

“However access to other therapies is patchy across the UK, so antidepressants can often become the only available solution. Not everyone will be helped by the SSRIs. This is further exacerbated by the very high rates of common mental health problems in our communities (one in six experience one every week).

“This means that, regardless of resourcing, the NHS is unlikely to be able to cope with the need.

“Other than prescriptions, we need to be able to be providing to people seeking help appropriate psychological support for their symptoms, alternative options like social prescribing and tailored advice (e.g. for debt or addictions). And above all, we need to be investing more into prevention of mental health problems developing, to help reduce the number of people seeking prescriptions in the first instance.”