Young people turned to antidepressants in greater numbers during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, new research has shown.
Use of these medications was already on the rise prior to March 2020, but the pandemic accelerated that trend, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics on Feb. 26.
“Using 2016-2022 data from a comprehensive national database, we found that the antidepressant dispensing rate to adolescents and young adults was increasing rapidly before March 2020 but increased nearly 64% faster afterward,” Kao Ping Chua, M.D., PhD, a pediatrician and researcher at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
