Mental Illness Prescriptions Increase During Recession Period: Study

A new study highlighted the deep impact of recession on the mental health of people stating that a rise in mental illness prescriptions was seen during economic downturns.

A recent research from the World Health Organization revealed that during times of financial downturn there are less number of heart attacks and fewer people die. On the whole, morbidity drops. But a new finding contradicts this survey stating that during recession there is a rise in mental illnesses.

Researchers at the University of Georgia observed a spike in the use of anti depressant and anti anxiety drug prescriptions during times of economic recession.  The rise was quite noticeable in the Northeast regions of the U.S.

"We see healthier outcomes for the most part, except for mental health," David Bradford, Busbee Chair in Public Policy in the UGA School of Public and International Affairs said, reports Medical Express.

For this study, researchers worked on 21 years of data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey of Physicians from 1989-2009. They focused on the association between rate of unemployment and prescribing of drugs to treat mental illness. The survey period covered three recessions- the largest one lasting from December 2007-2009.

"We are talking about effects too large to be explained by just those losing their jobs, which suggests recessions have a significant impact much broader than those directly affected by the job loss," Bradford said.

According to the study, there is a steady rise in the prescription for anti depressants and anti anxiety medications during recession times, There was a 10 percent increase in the number of anti-depressant or anti-anxiety drug prescriptions in the Northeast with one percentage point increase in unemployment.

"Unemployment rates in the U.S. exceeded 10 percent during the Great Recession, but that means 90 percent of the labor force was still working. So, people were not necessarily depressed because they didn't have a job, but maybe because they were afraid of getting laid off," Lastrapes said.

The researchers noticed a variation in the insurance rates throughout the nation. In the Northeast the medical insurance rates were higher, 90 percent, when compared to the South and West that remained just 83 percent and 84 percent, respectively. The researchers explain that the hike in the medical coverage could have had an impact on the number of people seeking medical assistance and eventually receiving prescriptions for depression.

To further understand how economy affects the need for drugs to treat mental illnesses the researchers are working on data collected from individuals.

The study was published in Health Economics.