Number of antidepressant and antipsychotic prescriptions by age group

OIA response

Thank you for your request dated 5 May 2022 under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) for information relating to antidepressants and anxiolytics. You requested: 

[T]he number of antidepressant and antipsychotic medications prescribed to young people [age bands 5-14 and 15-24] annually over the past decade [2011 to 2021].

 Table: Number of antidepressant and antipsychotic prescriptions by age group

  Antidepressants Antipsychotics
Calendar year 5-14 years 15-24 years 5-14 years 15-24 years
2011 6,225 88,401 4,116 33,818
2012 6,744 94,747 4,491 37,569
2013 7,585 103,258 4,989 41,355
2014 8,573 110,513 5,341 44,298
2015 9,823 123,692 5,461 47,644
2016 10,934 137,677 6,277 50,556
2017 11,961 150,115 6,822 55,521
2018 12,680 160,614 7,630 60,501
2019 14,178 173,246 8,121 65,755
2020 15,735 190,183 8,460 72,732
2021 19,015 218,312 9,917 82,471

Notes:

  • The age group shown is at the time of dispensing during the year. This means that people who were 14 at the start of the year and turned 15 during the year will be included in both age groups. Only the prescriptions at the particular age are included.
  • Prescription items are counted as the first dispensing of a particular chemical/formulation for a prescription. If multiple chemicals/formulations are included on a prescription, then these will be counted as multiple prescriptions. See the technical information on the Ministry of Health’s Pharmaceutical data web tool(external link) for more details. 

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