Two million in England have been on antidepressants for five years or more

More than a quarter of patients on antidepressants in England, or about two million people, have been taking them for five years, despite there being limited evidence of the benefits of taking such drugs for that length of time, according to a BBC investigation.

The finding was revealed by the BBC’s Panorama programme following a freedom of information request to the NHS.

It is estimated more than eight million people in England are on antidepressants, which are normally prescribed for depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder and other conditions.

This is one million more people than five years previously, and so potentially an indication of how usage has gone up since the pandemic. The new figures on long-term use cover the period 2018-2022.

The NHS recommends antidepressants should be used as a treatment for more severe depression, and often in combination with talking therapy, exercise and lifestyle changes.

The BBC emphasised that the data gives an overall picture, but does not reflect the circumstances of individual patients, some of whom could be on antidepressants long term for good reason.

The programme spoke to Professor Wendy Burn, former president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, who agreed that, while such drugs were useful, long-term use could be more problematic.

“Throughout my long and extensive career, I have seen people benefit from antidepressants,” she told the BBC. “I see them working in my clinical practice, I see lives being changed by them.”

But she added: “People are staying on antidepressants longer, and we don’t really have long-term studies that support that.”

Research from Oxford University in 2018 concluded that taking antidepressants was more effective than placebo, at least for short-term treatment of acute depression in adults. The effectiveness of response varied between drugs, however, ranging from small to moderate.