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More depressed people in India than ever before
Posted on: 31/Jan/2017 12:55:01 PM
Reports have said that Indians sought more help for mental health problems in 2016 that ever before.
Data collected by health information agencies show that around 10.6 lakh more prescriptions for anti-depressants were written in 2016 in comparison to 2015. While 3.35 crore prescriptions (for newly diagnosed patients) were written in 2015, doctors wrote 3.46 crore new prescriptions in 2016. The number of prescriptions for anti-depressants written out by psychiatrists in 2016 represented a 14% increase from the previous year.
Speaking about this, a senior official of NIMHANS said, The increase in the number of prescriptions could also be an indication of the increasing number of psychiatrists in India. There is no doubt that people are more open than before to seek help for depression, but a 14% rise in prescriptions could also mean there are more psychiatrists today than before. Roughly 360 new psychiatrists graduate annually.
Other psychiatrists say, There has been a tremendous increase in awareness about mental health. There is a 100% increase in the number of patients coming to psychiatrists in the last couple of years. The increase could be the tip of the iceberg. Antidepressants have low penetration in India. If there is an increase, it is not surprising as more people seek help these days. This doesn`t mean there is an increase in the incidence of depression, but there is an increase in awareness. Rapid shifts taking place in India in the fields of finance, education, workplace, family , among others, as the major cause for depression. People try to cramp in a century of living within a decade. The brain is being challenged beyond its potential, leading to an increase in depression rates. It is like an orchestra being disrupted. Some may suffer from depression due to economic difficulties such as debt while women may suffer due to mental difficulties such as domestic violence.
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