One in six people in England are now on antidepressants, official NHS data suggests.
Health service figures show a record 8.7 million people in England, about 15 per cent of the total population, are now on the mood-boosting drugs.
Patient numbers, for 2023/24 are a 2.1 per cent rise on last year, and a whopping 26 per cent rise on the 6.8 million who were on the drugs eight years prior.
However, the data also shows that the proportion of the population on antidepressants is as high as one in four in some parts of the country.
Women aged 55 to 59 were the biggest demographic on the drugs, accounting about one in 20 of the total.
Health service figures show a record 8.7 million people in England, about 15 per cent of the total population, are now on the mood-boosting drugs
This NHS data shows the number of Brits taking each type of antidepressant medication over the past eight years. The line with the green triangles indicates the the total number of patients
This was followed by women aged 50 to 54 and female patients aged 60 to 64.
The vast majority of patients, 5.4 million, were on a controversial class of antidepressants called Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
These drugs, of which Prozac is one the most recognisable, have sparked concern due to cases of sexual dysfunction among some users, even years after they stop using them.
By NHS region, the North East and North Cumbria was the antidepressant capital of England with 24.5 per cent of the population on the drugs.
This was followed by South Yorkshire (23.4 per cent) and Norfolk and Waveney (23.2 per cent).
In contrast, NHS organisations in London recorded the lowest proportion of people on antidepressants in England.
North East London only had just over one in 10 (11.3 per cent) people on antidepressants, the lowest in the nation.
This was followed by North West London (11.4 per cent) and South West London (12.1 per cent).
Women in their 50s accounted for the largest single demographic of Brits on antidepressants.
A total of 561,900 women aged 55-59 across England were prescribed the drugs in 2023/24.
This was followed by women aged 50-54 (547,552) and women aged 60 to 64 (499,099).
A similar pattern emerged in men, with males in their 50s the most likely to be prescribed the drugs, but women accounted for the vast majority of patients (65 per cent).
The data also recorded that 11,854 under-15s were also prescribed antidepressants by the NHS.
While the vast majority of these (11,186) were in 10-to-14-year-olds, about 600 five to 10-years-olds and 32 under fours were also prescribed the drugs.
NHS data also showed people in the most deprived parts of England were the most likely to take antidepressants.
In total, almost 2.2 million people in the poorest parts of the UK took the drugs, 41.3 per cent more than the number of patients in the richest areas.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) remained the most common class of antidepressant drug in the UK, a position they have maintained for years.
Common SSRIs prescribed in the UK include citalopram, fluoxetine and sertraline, sometimes known by brand names Cipramil, Prozac and Lustral – but their use has been linked to long-term and even permanent sexual dysfunction by researchers.
The NHS has warned that side effects such as a loss of libido and achieving orgasm, lower sperm count and erectile dysfunction ‘can persist’ after taking them – and patients have described feeling ‘carved out’, relationships wrecked, from their use.
Global leaders in the field of psychiatry have previously told MailOnline that ‘people should think very hard before they go anywhere near them’.
Most medics, and the NHS, consider the use of SSRI for depression, particularly persistent or severe cases, as worthwhile given the debilitating nature of the condition and how sufferers can, in some cases, attempt self-harm or suicide.
Sertraline was recently thrust into the spotlight by singer Lewis Capaldi who said he struggled to get an erection while on the libido-dampening drugs
In online forums some former antidepressant users shared heartbreaking stories about how the loss of their sex lives even years after they had stopped taking the medication had left them feeling suicidal
The libido-dampening nature of SSRIs was thrust into the spotlight last year by the Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi.
In a bare-all Netflix documentary, he spoke about taking it to help treat his anxiety and grimly commented on the knock-on effect it had on his sexual health.
‘They’re not really doing anything except I can’t get a f****** hard-on to save my life’, he said.
SSRIs libido-dampening effects are so powerful that the drugs, including sertraline, have even been trialled on sex offenders in the past to help curb their urges.
TikTok users have also flooded the social media platform with their own tales of their libido evaporating or being left emotionally numb while on the medications.
Others shared jokes about how they had to come off it, with the price of having to give up physical pleasure too much to pay.
However, others who have used the drugs credit them as a life-saver.
Antidepressant use has soared in recent years, despite growing unease among experts about the effectiveness of the drugs in treating depression.
Some studies have even suggested they could raise the risk of heart problems in young people or even, paradoxically, increase their risk of suicide alongside the problems of sexual wellbeing.
Such research isn’t clear-cut however, with other experts pointing out such trends could be due to the patients suffering from the depression the drugs are designed to alleviate, rather than the medication itself.
And plenty of people taking them insist they work.
People with depression are thought to have low levels of serotonin, though there is scientific debate over this, and SSRIs combat this by boosting these levels.
However, some experts suspect that the drugs could be causing too much serotonin to be released, with consequences for people’s health.
Psychiatrists advise patients concerned about the side effects of antidepressants to talk to their medical professional about their options.
Clinicians can sometimes offer an alternative dose, a different drug, or prescribe another medication to combat the side effects.
They urge patients who are taking them not to quit without talking to the medical professional responsible for their care first to ensure they are adequately supported.
The data covers NHS prescriptions for these drugs by the main reason medics prescribe them.
However, medications like antidepressants can also be prescribed for other health conditions and this would be included in the data.
These include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and pain relief. Occasionally, they may also be prescribed to treat pain.
Therefore, the data can’t be used to measure rates of depression across the country.
