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A troubling new paper has found that antidepressant use is surging among young Americans. Between January 2016 and December 2022, the monthly antidepressant dispensing rate increased 66.3% at a rate of 17% a month. It is yet another sign that all is not well with the Zoomer generation, with researchers noting that the antidepressant dispensing rate was rising before the Covid pandemic too (although it did rise 63.5% faster afterward).
Perhaps the most interesting takeaway from the paper is that the surge was driven entirely by an increase in dispensation to females (male dispensation actually decreased). Linked to this finding, argues Freya India in a recent Substack piece, is the extremely high percentage of women identifying as asexual: “In the US, 86% of those identifying as asexual are female, and 91% are aged between 18 to 27,” India writes. “Which is also the demographic with some of the fastest-rising rates in the use of mental health medication.” Just don’t ask Elmo for advice…
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