The report in the journal Pediatrics noted that mental health worsened in adolescents and young adults after the pandemic beginning in March 2020, but it was unknown whether that led to a change in antidepressant prescribing.
To find out, University of Michigan–led researchers identified antidepressant prescriptions dispensed to U.S. youths aged 12 to 25 years from 2016 to 2022 using the IQVIA Longitudinal Prescription Database, an all-payer national database.
The focus was on the monthly antidepressant dispensing rate, defined as the monthly number of individuals with ≥1 dispensed antidepressant prescription per 100,000 people.
Results indicate that, between January 2016 and December 2022, the monthly antidepressant dispensing rate increased 66.3%, from 2575.9 to 4284.8. Before March 2020, the rate increased by 17.0 per month (95% confidence interval: 15.2 to 18.8).
“The COVID-19 outbreak was not associated with a level change but was associated with a slope increase of 10.8 per month (95% confidence interval: 4.9 to 16.7),” the study team explained. “The monthly antidepressant dispensing rate increased 63.5% faster from March 2020 onwards compared with beforehand. In subgroup analyses, this rate increased 129.6% and 56.5% faster from March 2020 onwards compared with beforehand among females aged 12 to 17 years and 18 to 25 years, respectively. In contrast, the outbreak was associated with a level decrease among males aged 12 to 17 years and was not associated with a level or slope change among males aged 18 to 25 years.”
The authors point out that the change” was driven by increased antidepressant dispensing to females and occurred despite decreased dispensing to male adolescents.”
Background information in the report noted that previous studies have assessed changes in U.S. antidepressant dispensing after the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, but none of them were specific to adolescents and young adults nor analyzed data beyond 2020.
“According to the nationally representative Youth Behavior Risk Survey, the proportion of high school students reporting persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness increased from 21% to 29% among males between 2011 and 2021, compared with 36% to 57% in females,” the researchers advised. “From February 20, 2021, to March 20, 2021, the mean weekly number of U.S. emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts was 50.6% higher among female adolescents compared with the same period in 2019, 5.8% higher in female young adults, 3.7% higher in male adolescents, and 4.2% lower in male young adults.”
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