The number of Dutch young people taking antidepressants has increased significantly during the corona period. The increase among men is 11 percent, among young women it is an increase of almost 20 percent. During the pandemic, experts warned that young people were hit hard by the cabinet’s corona measures.
Their social contacts, both at school and in their free time, came to a standstill for months. That is what 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, this was 262 in every 100,000 women.
Previous research by Nivel has already shown that young people were more likely to suffer from anxious or depressed feelings during the corona pandemic than before.
Fewer complaints after corona measures, but no fewer pills
Nivel has not investigated whether there are now more young people with a depression or anxiety disorder than before the pandemic. In general, other studies show that the physical and psychological complaints among young people decreased when corona measures were relaxed.
However, this decrease is not seen in the number of prescriptions of antidepressants. “This could be because antidepressants are usually used for a longer period of time. Or perhaps the resilience of young people decreased over time, for example due to difficulty rebuilding a social life,” Nivel said.
Young people sigh under social problems
According to the research institute, other social problems can also play a role. “Like difficulty finding affordable housing or rising inflation, which makes everything more expensive.”
Nivel calls on to “keep an eye on” the mental health of this group of young people, even though most corona measures have been out of force for some time.