Antidepressant consumption in selected countries 2017

Globally, antidepressant usage has been on the rise. In 2017, among select Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, Iceland, Canada, and Australia were the greatest consumers of antidepressants. At that time people in Iceland consumed antidepressants at a rate of about 141 defined daily doses (DDD) per 1,000 people. Canada and Australia had significantly lower rates with about 110 and 109 DDD per 1,000 people, respectively.

Mental health globally

Mental health disorders affect a significant proportion of the population, though addressing and understanding the prevalence of mental health is difficult due to regional differences in diagnostic criteria and understandings of mental health. Despite barriers to gathering data on mental health, there have been some global quantitative studies to help better understand certain conditions. It is suggested that mental health is among the top three health concerns among adults worldwide. Recent estimates suggest that about 13 percent of the overall population suffers from some mental health or substance use disorder.

Depression and anxiety globally

A global survey on depression and anxiety showed that the largest numbers of people with anxiety resided in locations in South-East Asia and the Americas. However, the highest distribution of cases of depression globally is among populations in South-East Asia and the Western Pacific. Both depression and anxiety disproportionately affect women in all regions of the world.