Nearly Half of Antidepressants Not Prescribed for Depression, Study Finds

— -- Physicians are increasingly prescribing antidepressants for a variety of conditions unrelated directly to depression, including pain, attention deficit disorder and digestive system disorders, according to a new report published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Using electronic medical records to examine data from 100,000 patients and 185 physicians in Quebec, Canada, researchers from McGill University and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences looked at data from 2006 to 2015 for answers as to why prescriptions for antidepressants have been going up in the last two decades.

They found that 55 percent of antidepressant prescriptions were specifically for depression. Approximately 18 percent was for anxiety disorders, 10 percent was for pain and 4 percent was for panic disorders.

A significant portion of the prescriptions were for off-label uses, including digestive disorder, insomnia and migraine. The findings suggest that antidepressants don't correlate with depression rates, the authors said.

The results "highlight the need to evaluate the evidence supporting off-label antidepressant use," the authors wrote in the study.

Heather Carey, a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, said she did not find the study surprising as some antidepressant medications are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat conditions other than depression, such as fibromyalgia. She also said primary care doctors often prescribe antidepressants for off-label conditions in an attempt to help patients who aren't able or don't want to see a specialist.

"We certainly see that the main dilemma that a lot of folks get into is they don’t have access to specialists," Carey explained, noting that it's very common for primary care doctors to prescribe antidepressants for insomnia and pain to help patients.

While primary care physicians can provide a needed safety net for people unable to get to a specialist to help with sleep disorders or pain management, Carey said it's important that patients at some point see a specialist who can give a definitive diagnosis.

"On the other side of the coin, there are a lot of providers out there who maybe aren't quite as a familiar with diagnosing people," she said of primary care physicians. "We see a lot of people admitted and they were seeing a primary physician in the community and we see the medical regimen might not make sense."

Antidepressants can have side effects that can be serious for patients, especially if they are older or taking many other medications at the same time, Carey noted.

"My opinion is that everyone should try to see a specialist at some point," she said.