The report said the figures reflect “a reported deterioration in the mental health of the French population, particularly young people.”
Consumption of psychotropic drugs by French people aged between 12 and 25 has increased compared to the previous year, according to a report by the French National Health System.
This is especially true for antidepressants, which are predicted to see a 55% increase in prescriptions for 1,000 young people aged 12 to 25 between 2019 and 2023, compared with an 8% increase in prescriptions for 26 to 60 year olds.
Prescriptions of sleeping pills to treat sleep disorders are also on the rise, with the number of young people using them increasing by 50 percent compared to an 11 percent decrease among the rest of the adult population.
The report found that the number of young people taking antipsychotics rose 35 percent per 1,000, compared with a 4 percent increase among other adults.
The survey “reflects reports of a worsening mental health situation among the French population, particularly among young people.” According to a report released last month.
Young women accounted for most of the prescriptions and saw the largest increase in drug prescriptions.
This gender gap in the mental health of young people in Europe was highlighted in a 2023 report by the World Health Organization (WHO).
While these drugs can provide symptomatic relief, “they can also cause serious side effects, particularly when prescribed to adolescents and young adults who are at a time of mental maturity,” the WHO report warns.
France’s national health report included 30 proposals to improve health care in the country.
One of the proposals relates to young people’s mental health, proposing “improved support for general practitioners” and “encouraging the local structuring of mental health care pathways to enable faster treatment”.
“Given demographic trends, there will not be enough child psychiatrists in the next 20 years, and there never will be enough,” Bruno Fallisart, president of the French Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, warned a few months ago. In an interview with French media A company specializing in health.
The European Commission has announced several initiatives for 2023 to curb mental health issues in the wake of the pandemic, including around €2 million to develop tools for children and young people to address healthy lifestyles and mental health.
