Numbers of elderly taking anti-depressants double in two decades

The quantity of senior citizens taking antidepressants has doubled in 20 years, amid alerts that older people received pills they don't need.

A study made by British researchers likewise revealed that most elders who consume the medications don't show manifestations of depression. 

It raises a concern about the rate at which specialists give out possibly addictive pills. 

Researchers talked with two groups of 7,500 over-65s in England and Wales. The first was between 1991 and 1993, and the second was between 2008 and 2011.

Comparing the data from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, studies, from the University of East Anglia, found the level of over-65s on antidepressants expanded from 4.2 to 10.7 percent. 

The examination published in the British Journal of Psychiatry additionally found the number of elderlies determined to have depression stayed almost the same, from 7.9 percent in the mid-1990 and 1993 to 6.8 percent somewhere in the range of 2008 and 2011.

The researchers said that regardless of "significant increased" to the drugs which were provided, there seem to be no differences in the prevalence of late-life depression.

Professor Antony Arthur, the lead author of the study, told Telegraph that the prevalence might decrease, but that's what they did not observe in their research.

Arthur added one out of 15 individuals over-65 experience the ill effects of depression, yet how to treat the symptoms remains "ineffectively understood."

Arthur said that elderly patients must be given more help to get off the said medications.

It pursues a recent report which discovered that one out of six British adults, 7.3 million individuals, are taking antidepressants, just as 5.6 million on opioid pain prescriptions.

The report by Public Health England (PHE) found that just about 12 million grown-ups a year are being prescribed medications on which they may become dependent. 

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said he was "unbelievably worried" by the circumstance and focused on guaranteeing the situation would not heighten to being pandemic in the United States. 

The increase in the number of retired people being on antidepressants could be because of "improved recognition and treatment of depression, overprescribing, or using of antidepressants for different conditions," Prof. Arthur said.

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, told Telegraph that it is worrisome that the clinical response is to dole out pills in such a large number of cases.

Abrahams added 'talking therapies' are often very successful in treating issues like depression, particularly among young individuals.

"Unfortunately, we also know that older people are less likely to be offered a talking therapy than younger people, and it's high time that changed," she said.

The Royal College of GPs, however, told DailyMail that the increase in the antidepressant intake among over-65s could mean "greater awareness and acceptance of mental health conditions in society."

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, underscored that current evidence shows antidepressants would only work well when prescribed appropriately. 

While acknowledging that most older people are maybe perhaps lonely, Stokes-Lampard said they would explore alternative options to drug therapy such as talking therapies. According to her, talking therapy might benefit the patients more compared to traditional treatments.