One in five have taken antidepressants in Northern Ireland
This article was originally published in Scrip
One in five people in Northern Ireland have taken antidepressants compared with less than one in 10 in the republic of Ireland, results published last week from a drug prevalence survey show.
The survey, which was commissioned by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD), focuses on the use of sedatives, tranquillisers and antidepressants through almost 7,000 interviewees.
The figures show that 11% of people obtained sedatives or tranquilisers either from someone they knew or without prescription from a chemist, raising concerns about the misuse of prescription-only medicines, the NACD says.
Results show that the prevalence of all three medicine types is higher among older respondents, with double the number of people aged 35 to 64 taking the medicines, compared with those aged 15 to 34.
Lifetime, recent and current use of all three drug types is also higher among women than men, the survey highlights. It also shows higher prevalence among divorced or separated men and women.
The results confirm a correlation between various indicators of deprivation and higher prevalence rates, including: long-term dependency on the state, not being in paid work and lower levels of education.
The association has recommended that the survey findings are discussed with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) and the Irish Medicines Board (IMB). Meanwhile the association will be recommending the implementation of a drug trend monitoring system for the review of the national drugs strategy.