Comparison of the Total Number of People in the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population Purchasing One or More Antidepressant or Antipsychotic Prescriptions by Select Sociodemographic Characteristics, 2013 and 2018

From 2013 to 2018, the percentage of youths aged 12 to 17 that experienced at least one major depressive episode in the past year increased from 10.7 percent to 14.4 percent, and the percentage of adults experiencing at least one past-year major depressive episode increased from 6.7 percent to 7.2 percent. In 2018, an estimated 11.8 percent of adults aged 65 or older experienced any mental illness in the past year. Among adult females, both the percentage experiencing at least one major depressive episode in the past year and the percentage experiencing serious mental illness in the past year increased from 2013 to 2018 (8.1 percent to 9.0 percent and 4.9 percent to 5.7 percent, respectively). The percentage of Black non-Hispanic adults experiencing at least one major depressive episode in the past year also increased, from 4.6 percent in 2013 to 6.1 percent in 2018. The percentage of adults living in middle- or high-income families experiencing any mental illness in the past year increased from 16.0 percent in 2013 to 17.2 percent in 2018. Prescription antidepressants and antipsychotics are two types of drug therapies sometimes prescribed to treat mental illnesses. As more people use prescription antidepressants and antipsychotics for treatment, it is important for policymakers and researchers to understand who is receiving these medications to ensure fair and equitable access to care. This Statistical Brief presents a comparison of the total number of people in the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population purchasing one or more antidepressant or antipsychotic prescriptions by select sociodemographic characteristics between 2013 and 2018. Estimates are based on the 2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Household Component (MEPS-HC) and the 2018 MEPS-HC. Estimates are presented separately for antidepressants and antipsychotics. Only prescriptions obtained in an outpatient setting (retail and mail-order prescribed medicines) are included in these estimates. Prescription medicines administered in an inpatient setting or in a clinic or physician’s office are excluded. All differences between estimates discussed in the text are statistically significant at the 0.05 level unless otherwise noted.