Between 1994 and 2021, the prescription of antidepressants has gradually increased in Sweden, especially among young people. The same trend is not seen in Denmark and Norway, according to a review.
For example, figures from 2021 show that prescription rates in Sweden among children and young people between the ages of 10 and 19 were two to five times higher than in neighboring countries.
Similar advice
In Sweden, almost 9 percent of girls aged 15 to 19 took antidepressants. The corresponding figure in Denmark and Norway was 3 percent.
Since there are no major differences between the countries' treatment recommendations for depression, anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder, something else is probably behind the increasing differences, says Marcel Ballin, an investigator at the Medical Products Agency who led the project.
Based on the report, it is not possible to answer what is behind the differences and the investigators are calling for continued analysis of why things look the way they do.
This may be due to different propensities to treat conditions with specific medications due to both structural and sociocultural differences.
Psychotherapy
For milder conditions, psychotherapy is generally recommended, while drug treatment is an option for more severe problems. Insufficient access to psychological treatment could therefore be one of the reasons for increased prescribing.
It is important to investigate further to assess whether access to care is equal, says Marcel Ballin.
The report is based on figures up to 2021. But according to the investigator, there is nothing to indicate that things would be different now.
The prescription of antidepressants in Sweden has rather continued to increase.
The prescription of antidepressants is higher in Sweden than in Denmark and Norway. The differences have increased significantly over the past two decades, largely due to increased prescribing in Sweden.
The pattern is seen in women and men of all ages, but is particularly evident among children and young people, and among girls in particular.
Published prescribing data from 2021 show between two and five times higher prevalence and incidence of antidepressant medications among children and young people in Sweden compared to Denmark and Norway.
Source: Swedish Medicines Agency
