Antidepressants

Norman Lamb
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions for anti-depressants were dispensed in each of the last five years.

Mr. Mike O'Brien
The following table shows the number of prescription items for anti-depressant drugs within section 4.3 of the British National Formulary, written in the UK and dispensed in the community, in England.

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|                                              |Number (thousand)|
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|2004                                          |28,995.5         |
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|2005                                          |29,389.9         |
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|2006                                          |31,038.0         |
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|2007                                          |33,839.6         |
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|2008                                          |35,960.5         |
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|Source:Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system|                 |
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