Depression, anxiety pill prescriptions rise post-pandemic

In 2022, overall prescriptions grew 1% from 2019 while mental health-related prescriptions increased 12%, USA Today reported Feb. 29. 

An analysis of Medicaid data of the 60 most popular psychiatric drugs found a hike in medications for depression, anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Prescriptions for sertraline, the generic for Zoloft and most common antidepressant, rose 17% in those three years. 

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the utilization of mental health therapies were on the rise, but the pandemic accelerated the trend. According to a recent Census Bureau survey, the percentage of people experiencing anxiety or depression is double prepandemic levels. 

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