Unemployment and dispensed prescribed antidepressants in Stockholm County 1998-09

Abstract

The association between unemployment rates and population mental health has been studied with contradictory results. We examine the association between unemployment and antidepressants in Stockholm County. Age- and sex-specific monthly data on unemployment and dispensed prescribed antidepressants from January 1998 to January 2008 in Stockholm County were used. The association was studied with bivariate cointegration analysis with stationarity check of the residuals. We found that dispensing of antidepressants was inversely associated with unemployment. One interpretation is that antidepressants have not followed decreasing unemployment rates. © 2014 The Author.