The number of Dutch youths taking antidepressants has increased significantly during the crown period. The increase among men is 11 percent, among young women it is an increase of nearly 20 percent. During the pandemic, experts warned that young people have been hit hard by the cabinet’s crown measures.
Their social contacts, both at school and in their free time, have been interrupted for months. This is what the research institute Nivel said on Monday in response to a story Fidelity.
In the first half of 2022, 330 out of 100,000 women were prescribed an antidepressant. In 2019, there were 262 for every 100,000 women.
Nivel’s previous research has already shown that young people were more likely to suffer from feelings of anxiety or depression during the corona pandemic than before.
Fewer complaints after the crown measures, but no fewer pills
Nivel did not investigate whether there are now more young people with a depression or anxiety disorder than before the pandemic. Overall, other studies show that physical and psychological ailments among young people decreased when crown sizes were loosened.
However, this decrease is not seen in the number of antidepressant prescriptions. “This could be due to the fact that antidepressants are usually used for a longer period of time. Or perhaps the resilience of young people has decreased over time, for example due to the difficulty in rebuilding a social life,” Nivel said.
Young people sigh under social problems
According to the research institute, other social problems may also play a role. “Like the difficulty in finding affordable housing or rising inflation, which makes everything more expensive.”
Nivel calls for “keeping an eye on” the mental health of this group of young people, even though most of the corona measures have long since been out of effect.
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