玉泉营桥:哪些人在服用抗抑郁药？这表明了什么？

哪些人在服用抗抑郁药？这表明了什么？

More than 60 percent of individuals on antidepressants have been taking their medication for at least two years, but less than half have seen a mental health professional in the prior year.

超过60%的抑郁症患者服用抗抑郁药至少两年以上，但是在上一年看过精神健康专家的人还不到一半。

Eleven percent of Americans over age 12 took antidepressant medication between 2005 and 2008, according to an October data brief from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

美国国家卫生统计中心十月份的疾病控制与预防中心数据简图表明，2005到2008年间，12岁以上的国民接受过抑郁治疗的占11%。

For the report, a team of NCHS researchers led by Laura Pratt, Ph.D., analyzed data on the medication usage and depression severity of 12,637 individuals aged 12 and older who participated in the 2005-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Each of the participants completed a household interview and visited a mobile examination center for a physical exam and private interview.

这份报告由Laura Pratt博士领导的一个国家卫生统计中心团队完成，分析了12岁及12岁以上的12673名独立个体的用药情况和抑郁程度，这些人参加了2005到2008年的国家健康与营养考试调查。

The researchers noted that for the purposes of this study, antidepressant use was not limited to those taking such medication solely for depression. The analysis took into account the total number of antidepressants taken, regardless of the reason for use.

研究者们点明了本次报告的目的，即并非那些只接受药物治疗的患者才使用抗抑郁药。分析者把所有使用抗抑郁药的人都考虑在内，而没有考虑使用药物的原因。

The data brief detailed prevalence of antidepressant use by age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, depression severity, and length of medication use. Among the researchers' key findings were that women were more than twice as likely as men to take antidepressant medication (15.4 percent compared with 6.0 percent); non-Hispanic whites were more likely to take antidepressants than non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican-Americans (13.6 percent compared with 3.9 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively); and only 29.3 percent of Americans who took a single antidepressant had had contact with a mental health professional in the prior year.

从数据简图中可以详细地看出抑郁症患者的年龄，性别，种族，收入，抑郁程度及用药时间。研究者们有重要发现，接受抗抑郁治疗的女性两倍多于男性(15.4%：6.0%)；非西班牙裔白人比非西班牙裔黑人和美裔墨西哥人更容易患抑郁症(分别为13.6:3.9%和13.6%:2.7%)；只服用一种抗抑郁药的美国人中只有29.3%的人在上一年看过精神健康专家。

When considering age and gender as factors in medication use, the researchers found that both men and women over age 40 were more likely to take antidepressants than younger individuals. Nearly one-quarter of women between the ages of 40 and 59 took antidepressant medication—a greater percentage than any other age-sex group.

考虑用药情况中的性别和年龄因素时，研究人员发现40岁以上的男性和女性比年轻人更有可能患抑郁症。近乎四分之一的介于40至59岁的女性接受过抗抑郁治疗—比其它年龄性别组要高很多。

Both sexes experienced a rise in antidepressant use as the severity of their depressive symptoms increased, although women were more likely than men to take antidepressants at all levels of depression severity. The severity of participants' depressive symptoms was measured using the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire.

当抑郁症的程度变强时，所有患者都经历过用药量的增加，尽管在各种抑郁程度上女性都比男性更有可能接受抗抑郁药。参与者的抑郁症程度用含有9个项目的病人健康问卷调查表测量。

In assessing the length of time that survey participants reported taking antidepressant medication, the researchers found that more than 60 percent had done so for at least two years, while 14 percent had been taking antidepressants for 10 years or longer.

在评估此项调查参与者的用药时常时，研究者发现到目前为止，超过60%的患者已经至少持续用药两年，而有14%的患者已经用药10年或者更久。

The data brief also found that of those taking antidepressants, approximately 14 percent took more than one such medication. Of this group, less than one-half reported having seen a mental health professional in the past year. The researchers noted that the data did not indicate whether those individuals who contacted a mental health professional actually began treatment for depression or whether participants received treatment from their primary care providers.

数据简图也表明这些服用抗抑郁药物的人中，有近14%的人服用不止一种药物。在这组中，不到一半的人在去年看过精神健康医师。研究人员指出数据不能表明这些人有否在开始治疗后联系过精神健康医师或有否接受过私人保健医师的治疗。

There was no variation observed in antidepressant use by income group.

没有观察到各收入阶层在抗抑郁药使用上的变化。