Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey:

• During 2011–2014, 12.7% of persons aged 12 and over, 8.6% of males, and 16.5% of females took antidepressant medication in the past month.
• For both males and females, non–Hispanic white persons were more likely to take antidepressant medication compared with those of other race and Hispanic–origin groups.
• One–fourth of persons who took antidepressant medication had done so for 10 years or more.
• Antidepressant use increased from 1999 to 2014.

Antidepressants are one of the three most commonly used therapeutic drug classes in the United States. While the majority of antidepressants are taken to treat depression, antidepressants can also be taken to treat other conditions, like anxiety disorders. This Data Brief provides the most recent estimates of antidepressant use in the U.S.

noninstitutionalized population, including prevalence of use by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin, and length of use. This report also describes trends in the prevalence of antidepressant use from 1999–2002 to 2011–2014.