Scientists from Chunnan University in South Korea found that residents of Iceland, Canada and Portugal received the most antidepressant prescriptions in the world. Research results published In European Journal of Public Health (EJPH).
In the study, researchers analyzed the number of antidepressant prescriptions in 22 countries using data from health systems. It is stated that the scientific study considered the release of two main classes of drugs – tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
The results showed that the highest number of antidepressant prescriptions were written in Iceland. Experts believe that this is not due to cold weather and lack of sunlight, but to the cheapness and ease of obtaining of drugs. Canada and Portugal were also among the countries with the highest estimated consumption of antidepressants. It is stated that the USA is in fifth place and the UK is in seventh place.
The number of antidepressant prescriptions was lowest in South Korea. It has been announced that for every thousand population in this country, 27 people receive medication for depression. The researchers suggested that these results were due to the taboo nature of the topic of mental disorders and people’s reluctance to seek help.
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