Use of Medications for Depression by Adults in the United States

Adult patients who seek audiological services may be taking prescription medication(s). This may include medications for depression. As such, a recent report by Elgaddal and colleagues (2025) may be pertinent. 

The report used data from the 2023 National Health Interview Survey, to estimate the percentage of adults (18 years of age and older) in the United States who take prescription medication for depression.

These authors estimated that 11.4 percent of adults used prescription medication for depression. The percentage of women (15.3 percent) taking such medication was significantly greater than men (7.4 percent). Additionally, those aged 45–64 years (12.1 percent) and 65–74 years (12.4 percent) were significantly more likely to be taking prescription medication for depression than those aged 18–44 years (10.7 percent). 

Those who lived alone (14.4 percent) versus with others (10.9 percent) and those with a disability (28.2 percent) versus those without any disabilities (9.7 percent) were also more likely to be taking prescription medication for depression. Adults were considered to have a disability if they responded “a lot of difficulty” or “cannot do at all or unable to do” to at least one of the six domains on the Washington Group Short Set of Functioning (REF). These domains include seeing, hearing, mobility, communication, cognition, and self-care. 

These authors also reported that the percentage of people who took prescription medication for depression varied significantly by race and Hispanic origin, family income, level of education, region, and level of urbanization of residence.

References

Elgaddal, N., Weeks, J. D., & Mykyta, L. (2025). Characteristics of adults age 18 and older who took prescription medication for depression: United States, 2023. NCHS Data Brief, 528,1-9.

Washington Group on Disability Statistics. (2022). WG Short Set on Functioning (WG-SS).