--- description: A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics finds that 65% more Americans are taking antidepressants than they were in 1999 title: 13% of Americans Take Antidepressants image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92911985a9bdd65d/6988c140bc6cfc3c983e0bcb/time-health-stock-pill-pattern.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Mental Health/Psychology](/tag/mental-healthpsychology/) ## Mental Health/Psychology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 13% of Americans Take Antidepressants by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 15, 2017 1:42 PM CUT  Large group of white tablets Large group of white tabletsGetty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 15, 2017 1:42 PM CUT Antidepressants are some of the most popular drugs in the United States, and their usage shows no signs of waning. A new report from the [National Center for Health Statistics](https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/index.htm "undefined") shows that from 2011 through 2014, the most recent data available, close to 13% of people 12 and older said they took an antidepressant in the last month. That [number is up from 11%](https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db76.htm "undefined") in 2005-2008. The most recent numbers have increased by nearly 65% since 1999-2002, when 7.7% of Americans reported taking an antidepressant. **MORE:** [New Hope for Depression](http://time.com/4876098/new-hope-for-depression/ "undefined") Many people who took antidepressants, which are used to treat depression as well as anxiety, also reported using them longterm: 68% of people ages 12 and up said they had been taking their antidepressant for two years or more. A quarter of people who took antidepressants reported taking them for 10 years or more. The study authors also found that women were about twice as likely as men to say they took antidepressants, a trend that’s been evident [for a few years](http://healthland.time.com/2011/10/20/what-does-a-400-increase-in-antidepressant-prescribing-really-mean/ "undefined"). (Women are twice as likely to develop depression as men.) Antidepressant use also became more common as people got older. [As TIME reported in a recent cover story](http://time.com/4876098/new-hope-for-depression/ "undefined"), clinical depression affects about 16 million people in the U.S. and is estimated to cost the U.S. about $210 billion a year in productivity loss and health care needs. Global revenue for antidepressants is [projected](https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2016/05/10/838292/0/en/Global-Depression-Drug-Market-Poised-to-Surge-from-USD-14-51-Billion-in-2014-to-USD-16-80-Billion-by-2020-MarketResearchStore-Com.html "undefined") to grow to nearly $17 billion by 2020. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4900248/antidepressants-depression-more-common/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4900248/antidepressants-depression-more-common/"},"headline":"13% of Americans Take Antidepressants","datePublished":"2017-08-15T13:42:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:59:03.237Z","description":"A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics finds that 65% more Americans are taking antidepressants than they were in 1999","url":"https://time.com/4900248/antidepressants-depression-more-common/","keywords":["Mental Health/Psychology","Psychology","Depression","Mental Health","CDC","Antidepressants","psychiatry"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92911985a9bdd65d/6988c140bc6cfc3c983e0bcb/time-health-stock-pill-pattern.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92911985a9bdd65d/6988c140bc6cfc3c983e0bcb/time-health-stock-pill-pattern.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"time-health-stock-tablets","caption":"Large group of white tablets TIME health stock","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/mental-healthpsychology/","name":"Mental Health/Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4900248/antidepressants-depression-more-common/","name":"13% of Americans Take Antidepressants"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"It's Official: Yoga Helps Depression","description":"A small new study from Boston University finds that taking yoga classes twice a week may help ease depression, thanks in part to deep breathing","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/X1gG6U73/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-03-09T17:35:32.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/X1gG6U73.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4900248/antidepressants-depression-more-common/","duration":"PT1M2S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4900248/antidepressants-depression-more-common/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```