NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 76 ■ October 2011

Antidepressant Use in Persons Aged 12 and Over: 

United States, 2005–2008

Laura A. Pratt, Ph.D.; Debra J. Brody, M.P.H.; and Qiuping Gu, M.D., Ph.D.

Key findings

Data from the National 

Health and Nutrition 

Examination Surveys, 

2005–2008

•	 Eleven	percent	of	Americans	

aged	12	years	and	over	take	

antidepressant	medication.

•	 Females	are	more	likely	to	

take	antidepressants	than	are	

males,	and	non-Hispanic	white	

persons	are	more	likely	to	take	

antidepressants	than	are	nonHispanic	black	and	MexicanAmerican	persons.

•	 About	one-third	of	persons	

with	severe	depressive	

symptoms	take	antidepressant	

medication.

•	 More	than	60%	of	Americans	taking	antidepressant	

medication	have	taken	it	for	

2	years	or	longer,	with	14%	

having	taken	the	medication		

for	10	years	or	more.

•	 Less	than	one-third	of	

Americans	taking	one	

antidepressant	medication	and	

less	than	one-half	of	those	

taking	multiple	antidepressants	

have	seen	a	mental	health	

professional	in	the	past	year.

Antidepressants	were	the	third	most	common	prescription	drug	taken	by	

Americans	of	all	ages	in	2005–2008	and	the	most	frequently	used	by		

persons	aged	18–44	years	(1).	From	1988–1994	through	2005–2008,	the	

rate	of	antidepressant	use	in	the	United	States	among	all	ages	increased		

nearly	400%	(1).	

This	data	brief	discusses	all	antidepressants	taken,	regardless	of	the	reason	

for	use.	While	the	majority	of	antidepressants	are	taken	to	treat	depression,	

antidepressants	also	can	be	taken	to	treat	anxiety	disorders,	for	example.	

The	report	describes	antidepressant	use	among	Americans	aged	12	and	over,	

including	prevalence	of	use	by	age,	sex,	race	and	ethnicity,	income,	depression	

severity,	and	length	of	use.

Keywords: prescription medication • depression • National Health and 

Nutrition Examination Survey • mental health

About one in 10 Americans aged 12 and over takes antidepressant medication.













7RWDO 0DOHV )HPDOHV

\HDUVDQGRYHU ± ± ± DQGRYHU

















 



 



















)LJXUH3HUFHQWDJHRISHUVRQVDJHGDQGRYHUZKRWDNHDQWLGHSUHVVDQWPHGLFDWLRQE\DJH

DQGVH[8QLWHG6WDWHV±



6LJQLILFDQWO\GLIIHUHQWIURPDJHJURXS±6LJQLILFDQWO\GLIIHUHQWIURPDJHJURXSV±DQGDQGRYHU 

6LJQLILFDQWO\GLIIHUHQWIURPIHPDOHV6LJQLILFDQWO\GLIIHUHQWIURPDJHJURXSDQGRYHU

127($FFHVVGDWDWDEOHIRU)LJXUHDWKWWSZZZFGFJRYQFKVGDWDGDWDEULHIVGEBWDEOHVSGI

6285&(&'&1&+61DWLRQDO+HDOWKDQG1XWULWLRQ([DPLQDWLRQ6XUYH\V± 3HUFHQW

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Health Statistics
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 76 ■ October 2011

■  2  ■

•	 Overall,	females	are	21⁄2	times	as	likely	to	take	antidepressant	medication	as	males.	

However,	there	is	no	difference	by	sex	in	rates	of	antidepressant	use	among	persons	aged	

12–17	(Figure	1).

•	 Twenty-three	percent	of	women	aged	40–59	take	antidepressants,	more	than	in	any	other	

age-sex	group.

•	 Among	both	males	and	females,	those	aged	40	and	over	are	more	likely	to	take	

antidepressants	than	those	in	younger	age	groups.

Non-Hispanic white persons are more likely to take antidepressant 

medication than persons of other races and ethnicities.

•	 Fourteen	percent	of	non-Hispanic	white	persons	take	antidepressant	medications	compared	

with	4%	of	non-Hispanic	black	and	3%	of	Mexican-American	persons	(Figure	2).

•	 There	is	no	difference	by	income	in	the	prevalence	of	antidepressant	usage.

)LJXUH3HUFHQWDJHRISHUVRQVDJHGDQGRYHUZKRWDNHDQWLGHSUHVVDQWPHGLFDWLRQE\UDFHDQGHWKQLFLW\DQGE\

IDPLO\LQFRPHJURXS8QLWHG6WDWHV±



6LJQLILFDQWO\GLIIHUHQWIURPQRQ+LVSDQLFZKLWHSRSXODWLRQ

127($FFHVVGDWDWDEOHIRU)LJXUHDWKWWSZZZFGFJRYQFKVGDWDGDWDEULHIVGEBWDEOHVSGI

6285&(&'&1&+61DWLRQDO+HDOWKDQG1XWULWLRQ([DPLQDWLRQ6XUYH\V±

3HUFHQW

RUPRUHRI

SRYHUW\OHYHO

WROHVVWKDQ

RISRYHUW\OHYHO

1RQ+LVSDQLFZKLWH 

1RQ+LVSDQLFEODFN 



0H[LFDQ$PHULFDQ 



/HVVWKDQRI

SRYHUW\OHYHO 





   
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 76 ■ October 2011

■  3  ■

Females are more likely than males to take antidepressant medication at 

every level of depression severity.













7RWDO 0DOHV )HPDOHV

3HUFHQW

'HSUHVVLYHV\PSWRPV 1RQH 0LOG 0RGHUDWH 6HYHUH





































6WDWLVWLFDOO\VLJQLILFDQWWUHQG



6LJQLILFDQWO\GLIIHUHQWIURPIHPDOHV

127($FFHVVGDWDWDEOHIRU)LJXUHDWKWWSZZZFGFJRYQFKVGDWDGDWDEULHIVGEBWDEOHVSGI

6285&(&'&1&+61DWLRQDO+HDOWKDQG1XWULWLRQ([DPLQDWLRQ6XUYH\V±

)LJXUH3HUFHQWDJHRISHUVRQVDJHGDQGRYHUZKRWDNHDQWLGHSUHVVDQWPHGLFDWLRQE\VH[DQGVHYHULW\RIGHSUHVVLYH

V\PSWRPV8QLWHG6WDWHV±

•	 Overall, 40% of females and 20% of males with severe depressive symptoms take

antidepressant medication (Figure 3).

•	 More than one-third of females with moderate depressive symptoms, and less than one-fifth

of males with moderate depressive symptoms, take antidepressant medication.

•	 Use of antidepressant medication rises as severity of depressive symptoms increases among

both males and females.
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 76 ■ October 2011

■  4  ■

About 14% of Americans taking antidepressant medication have done so 

for 10 years or longer.













7RWDO 0DOHV )HPDOHV

\HDUVWROHVV

WKDQ\HDUV

\HDUVWROHVV

WKDQ\HDUV

PRQWKVWROHVV

WKDQ\HDUV

/HVVWKDQ

GD\V

\HDUV

RUPRUH

3HUFHQW

127($FFHVVGDWDWDEOHIRU)LJXUHDWKWWSZZZFGFJRYQFKVGDWDGDWDEULHIVGEBWDEOHVSGI

6285&(&'&1&+61DWLRQDO+HDOWKDQG1XWULWLRQ([DPLQDWLRQ6XUYH\V±

)LJXUH/HQJWKRIDQWLGHSUHVVDQWXVHDPRQJSHUVRQVDJHGDQGRYHUZKRWDNHDQWLGHSUHVVDQWVE\VH[

8QLWHG6WDWHV±



 



 



















•	 More than 60% of Americans taking antidepressant medication have been taking it longer

than 2 years (Figure 4).

•	 In general, there was no significant difference between males and females in length of use of

antidepressants.

Less than one-third of persons taking a single antidepressant have seen a 

mental health professional in the past year.











 1RDQWLGHSUHVVDQW DQWLGHSUHVVDQW 0RUHWKDQDQWLGHSUHVVDQW

7RWDO 0DOHV )HPDOHV

3HUFHQW



6WDWLVWLFDOO\VLJQLILFDQWWUHQG



6LJQLILFDQWO\GLIIHUHQWIURPIHPDOHV

127($FFHVVGDWDWDEOHIRU)LJXUHDWKWWSZZZFGFJRYQFKVGDWDGDWDEULHIVGEBWDEOHVSGI

6285&(&'&1&+61DWLRQDO+HDOWKDQG1XWULWLRQ([DPLQDWLRQ6XUYH\V±

























)LJXUH3HUFHQWDJHRISHUVRQVDJHGDQGRYHUZKRKDYHVHHQDPHQWDOKHDOWKSURIHVVLRQDOLQWKHSDVW\HDUE\

QXPEHURIDQWLGHSUHVVDQWVWDNHQDQGVH[8QLWHG6WDWHV±
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 76 ■ October 2011

■  5  ■

•	 Among persons taking antidepressants, approximately 14% take more than one

antidepressant; the percentage was similar for males and females (data not shown).

•	 Less than one-half of persons taking multiple antidepressants have seen a mental health

professional in the past year (Figure 5).

•	 Among those taking multiple antidepressants, males are more likely than females to have

seen a mental health professional in the past year.

•	 The likelihood of having seen a mental health professional increases as the number of

antidepressants taken increases.

Summary

In 2005–2008, 11% of Americans aged 12 and over took antidepressant medication. There were

significant differences in antidepressant medication usage rates between groups. Females were

21⁄2 times as likely as males to take antidepressants. Antidepressant use was higher in persons

aged 40 and over than in those aged 12–39. Non-Hispanic white persons were more likely to

take antidepressants than other race and ethnicity groups. Other studies have shown similar age,

gender, and race and ethnicity patterns (2,3). There was no variation in antidepressant use by

income group. Among persons taking antidepressants overall, there was no significant difference

in length of use between males and females. Among persons taking antidepressants, males were

more likely than females to have seen a mental health professional in the past year.

About 8% of persons aged 12 and over with no current depressive symptoms took antidepressant

medication. This group may include persons taking antidepressants for reasons other than

depression and persons taking antidepressants for depression who are being treated successfully

and do not currently have depressive symptoms.

Slightly over one-third of persons aged 12 and over with current severe depressive symptoms

were taking antidepressants. According to American Psychiatric Association guidelines,

medications are the preferred treatment for moderate to severe depressive symptomatology (4).

The public health importance of increasing treatment rates for depression is reflected in Healthy 

People 2020, which includes national objectives to increase treatment for depression in adults and

treatment for mental health problems in children (5).
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 76 ■ October 2011

■  6  ■

Definitions

Prescription drug use: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) participants

were asked if they had taken a prescription drug in the past month. Those who answered “yes”

were asked to show the interviewer the medication containers of all prescription drugs. For each

drug reported, the interviewer recorded the product’s complete name from the container.

Antidepressant medication: Prescription drugs were classified based on the three-level nested

therapeutic classification scheme of Cerner Multum’s Lexicon (6). Antidepressants were

identified using the second level of drug categorical codes, specifically code 249.

Income group: Defined by dividing family income by a poverty threshold based on the size of the

family (http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/methods/definitions.html#ratio of income to

poverty). Income groups included less than 100% of the poverty level, 100% to less than 200% of

the poverty level, and 200% or more of the poverty level.

Severity of depressive symptoms: Measured in NHANES using the Patient Health Questionnaire

(PHQ–9), a nine-item screener that asks questions about the frequency of symptoms of depression

over the past 2 weeks (7). PHQ–9 is based on the diagnostic criteria for a major depressive

episode in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (8). Major

depression includes mood symptoms such as feelings of sadness or irritability, loss of interest in

usual activities, inability to experience pleasure, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, and thoughts

of death or suicide; cognitive symptoms such as inability to concentrate and difficulty making

decisions; and physical symptoms such as fatigue, lack of energy, feeling restless or slowed

down, and changes in sleep, appetite, and activity levels.

In PHQ–9, the response categories “not at all,” “several days,” “more than half the days,” and

“nearly every day” are given a score ranging from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day). A total

score is calculated ranging from 0 to 27. The following four categories of depressive symptom

severity are based on the total score from the PHQ–9 screening instrument (7):

•	 None or minimal	 	 0–4

•	 Mild	 	 	 5–9

•	 Moderate	 	 	 10–14

•	 Severe	 	 	 15 or more

Length of use of antidepressants: Evaluated by asking 

taking the medication. Among persons taking more than one antidepressant, the one they had

taken the longest was used for Figure 4.

Contact with a mental health professional: Defined by the question: “During the past 12 months,

have you seen or talked to a mental health professional such as a psychologist, psychiatrist,

psychiatric nurse, or clinical social worker about your health?”

The data do not indicate whether persons who contacted a mental health professional actually

began treatment for depression. The question also does not ask about mental health treatment

received from primary care providers.
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 76 ■ October 2011

■  7  ■

Data source and methods

NHANES is a continuous survey conducted to assess the health and nutrition of Americans.

The survey is designed to be nationally representative of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized

population. Survey participants complete a household interview and visit a mobile examination

center (MEC) for a physical examination and private interview. The annual interview and

examination sample includes approximately 5,000 persons of all ages. In 2005–2006, nonHispanic black persons, Mexican-American persons, adults aged 60 and over, and low-income

persons were oversampled to improve the statistical reliability of the estimates for these groups.

In 2007–2008, the same groups were oversampled with one exception: Rather than oversampling

only the Mexican-American population, all Hispanic persons were oversampled.

This report is based on the analysis of data from interviews in the household and in the MEC. The

questions on prescription drug use were asked in the household interview, and the questions on

depression were asked in the MEC. Questions were administered in English and Spanish.

Of the 13,897 persons aged 12 and over who participated in the NHANES medical examination,

analyses for this data brief included 12,637 persons with information on medication usage and

depression severity. Estimates by income group were based on 11,827 persons who also reported

their family income.

NHANES sample examination weights, which account for the differential probabilities of

selection, nonresponse, and noncoverage, were used for all analyses. Standard errors of the

percentages were estimated using Taylor series linearization, a method that incorporates the

sample design and weights.

Overall differences between groups were evaluated using the chi square statistic. In cases where

the chi square test was significant, differences between subgroups were evaluated using the

univariate t statistic. A test for trends was done to evaluate changes in the estimates by depression

severity in Figure 3 and by number of antidepressants taken in Figure 5. All significance tests

were two-sided using p < 0.05 as the level of significance, with no adjustment for multiple

comparisons. All comparisons reported are statistically significant unless otherwise indicated.

Data analyses were performed using SAS version 9.2 (SAS Institute, Cary, N.C.) and SUDAAN

version 9.0 (RTI International, Research Triangle Park, N.C.).

About the authors

Laura A. Pratt is with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for

Health Statistics, Office of Analysis and Epidemiology. Debra J. Brody and Qiuping Gu are with

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, Division

of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Health Statistics

3311 Toledo Road

Hyattsville, MD 20782

OFFICIAL BUSINESS 

PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE, $300

FIRST CLASS MAIL 

POSTAGE & FEES PAID 

CDC/NCHS

PERMIT NO. G-284

NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 76 ■ October 2011

References

1.	 National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2010: With

special feature on death and dying. Table 95. Hyattsville, MD. 2011.

2.	 Olfson M, Marcus SC. National patterns in antidepressant medication

treatment. Arch Gen Psychiatry 66(8):848–56. 2009.

3.	 Paulose-Ram R, Safran MA, Jonas BS, Gu Q, Orwig D. Trends in

psychotropic medication use among U.S. adults. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug

Saf 16(5):560–70. 2007.

4.	 American Psychiatric Association. Practice guideline for treatment

of patients with major depressive disorder, third edition. Washington,

DC. 2010. Available from: http://www.psychiatryonline.com/pracGuide/

pracGuideTopic_7.aspx.

5.	 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease

Prevention and Health Promotion. Healthy People 2020 summary of

objectives: Mental health and mental disorders. Available from: http://www.

healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/objectiveslist.aspx?topicid=28.

6.	 Multum Lexicon database. In: National Health and Nutrition

Examination Survey—1988–2008 data documentation, codebook, and

frequencies. 2010. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/

nhanes2007-2008/RXQ_DRUG.htm.

7.	 Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The PHQ–9:	Validity	of 

depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med 16(9):606–13. 2001.

8.	 American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of

mental disorders, fourth edition. Washington, DC. 2000.

Suggested citation

Pratt LA, Brody DJ, Gu Q. Antidepressant

use in persons aged 12 and over:

United States, 2005–2008. NCHS data brief,

no 76. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for

Health Statistics. 2011.

Copyright information

All material appearing in this report is in

the public domain and may be reproduced

or copied without permission; citation as to

source, however, is appreciated.

National Center for Health 

Statistics

Edward J. Sondik, Ph.D., Director

Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D., Associate 

Director for Science

Office of Analysis and Epidemiology

Diane M. Makuc, Dr.P.H., Acting Director

Division of Health and Nutrition 

Examination Surveys

Clifford L. Johnson, M.S.P.H., Director

For e-mail updates on NCHS publication 

releases, subscribe online at: 

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/govdelivery.htm.

For questions or general information about 

NCHS: Tel: 1–800–232–4636

E-mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov

Internet: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs

ISSN 1941–4927 (Print ed.)

ISSN 1941–4935 (Online ed.)

DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 2012–1209

CS227006