England - October to December 2024
Published 6 March 2025
Summary
Between October and December 2024:
There were 24 million antidepressant items prescribed to an estimated 7 million identified patients.
The cost of antidepressant items decreased by 6.4%, from £60 million to £57 million.
1. Things you should know
Antidepressant drugs are effective for treating moderate to severe depression, but are not usually recommended for the routine treatment of mild depression. In those cases, psychological therapy should be considered initially. However, a trial of antidepressant therapy may be considered in cases resistant to psychological treatments or associated with other problems. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has released updated guidance to recommend adult patients stopping antidepressants should have their dose reduced in stages across time.
Antidepressant drugs are described in the BNF 68 section 4.3:
- BNF paragraph 4.3.1 - Tricyclic and related antidepressant drugs
- BNF paragraph 4.3.2 - Monoamine-oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
- BNF paragraph 4.3.3 - Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
- BNF paragraph 4.3.4 - Other antidepressant drugs
1.1. Antidepressant drugs
Antidepressant drugs are licensed to treat major depression. Health professionals use the words depression, depressive illness or clinical depression to refer to depression. It is a serious illness and very different from the common experience of feeling unhappy or fed up for a short period of time. Depressed people may have feelings of extreme sadness that can last for a long time. These feelings are severe enough to interfere with daily life, and can last for weeks, months or years, rather than days.
It should be noted that antidepressant drugs are used for indications other than depression, for example migraine, chronic pain, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), or a range of other conditions. Clinical indication isn’t captured by the NHSBSA. Therefore, the statistics on these drugs do not relate solely to prescribing for depression.
You can find more information about depression on the NHS website.
2. Results - Antidepressant drugs
Number of prescribed items and identified patients by financial quarter - BNF 4.3: Antidepressant drugs
Chart
Figure 1: Antidepressant items and identified patients increased in Q3 2024/25
Table
Table 1: Antidepressant items and identified patients increased in Q3 2024/25
| Financial quarter | BNF section name | Total prescribed items | Identified patients |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019/2020 Q4 | Antidepressant drugs | 19,632,347 | 6,017,303 |
| 2020/2021 Q1 | Antidepressant drugs | 19,214,498 | 5,894,233 |
| 2020/2021 Q2 | Antidepressant drugs | 19,567,297 | 6,023,075 |
| 2020/2021 Q3 | Antidepressant drugs | 20,450,562 | 6,176,699 |
| 2020/2021 Q4 | Antidepressant drugs | 20,178,197 | 6,286,793 |
| 2021/2022 Q1 | Antidepressant drugs | 20,508,291 | 6,337,207 |
| 2021/2022 Q2 | Antidepressant drugs | 20,771,230 | 6,376,089 |
| 2021/2022 Q3 | Antidepressant drugs | 21,161,896 | 6,448,688 |
| 2021/2022 Q4 | Antidepressant drugs | 20,996,711 | 6,544,641 |
| 2022/2023 Q1 | Antidepressant drugs | 21,243,030 | 6,545,996 |
| 2022/2023 Q2 | Antidepressant drugs | 21,439,869 | 6,564,326 |
| 2022/2023 Q3 | Antidepressant drugs | 21,727,730 | 6,610,742 |
| 2022/2023 Q4 | Antidepressant drugs | 21,853,093 | 6,720,513 |
| 2023/2024 Q1 | Antidepressant drugs | 21,858,760 | 6,708,775 |
| 2023/2024 Q2 | Antidepressant drugs | 22,197,027 | 6,758,276 |
| 2023/2024 Q3 | Antidepressant drugs | 22,558,686 | 6,818,402 |
| 2023/2024 Q4 | Antidepressant drugs | 22,517,109 | 6,884,614 |
| 2024/2025 Q1 | Antidepressant drugs | 22,861,472 | 6,897,249 |
| 2024/2025 Q2 | Antidepressant drugs | 23,184,475 | 6,921,587 |
| 2024/2025 Q3 | Antidepressant drugs | 23,544,695 | 6,988,072 |
24 million antidepressants items prescribed in Q3 2024/25.
7 million identified patients received an antidepressant in Q3 2024/25.
Antidepressant items and identified patients both continue to trend upwards.
Cost of prescribing by financial quarter - BNF 4.3: Antidepressant drugs
Chart
Figure 2: Antidepressant costs decreased in Q3 2024/25
Table
Table 2: Antidepressant costs decreased in Q3 2024/25
| Financial quarter | BNF section name | Cost (GBP) |
|---|---|---|
| 2019/2020 Q4 | Antidepressant drugs | 68,809,642 |
| 2020/2021 Q1 | Antidepressant drugs | 107,310,354 |
| 2020/2021 Q2 | Antidepressant drugs | 92,824,025 |
| 2020/2021 Q3 | Antidepressant drugs | 83,728,585 |
| 2020/2021 Q4 | Antidepressant drugs | 90,621,375 |
| 2021/2022 Q1 | Antidepressant drugs | 73,588,969 |
| 2021/2022 Q2 | Antidepressant drugs | 64,144,227 |
| 2021/2022 Q3 | Antidepressant drugs | 59,743,375 |
| 2021/2022 Q4 | Antidepressant drugs | 49,624,819 |
| 2022/2023 Q1 | Antidepressant drugs | 49,212,209 |
| 2022/2023 Q2 | Antidepressant drugs | 65,355,485 |
| 2022/2023 Q3 | Antidepressant drugs | 60,461,605 |
| 2022/2023 Q4 | Antidepressant drugs | 60,396,937 |
| 2023/2024 Q1 | Antidepressant drugs | 59,764,101 |
| 2023/2024 Q2 | Antidepressant drugs | 55,679,773 |
| 2023/2024 Q3 | Antidepressant drugs | 54,138,620 |
| 2023/2024 Q4 | Antidepressant drugs | 54,342,700 |
| 2024/2025 Q1 | Antidepressant drugs | 55,252,270 |
| 2024/2025 Q2 | Antidepressant drugs | 60,454,289 |
| 2024/2025 Q3 | Antidepressant drugs | 56,608,700 |
The cost of antidepressant items was £57 million in Q3 2024/25.
The cost of antidepressant prescribing has decreased by 6.4% since the previous quarter.
Number of prescribed items and identified patients by month - BNF 4.3: Antidepressant drugs
Chart
Figure 3: Antidepressant items and identified patients increased in the past twelve months
Table
Table 3: Antidepressant items and identified patients increased in the past twelve months
| Month | BNF section name | Total prescribed items | Identified patients |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202001 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,703,389 | 4,223,333 |
| 202002 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,098,725 | 4,006,857 |
| 202003 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,830,233 | 4,326,843 |
| 202004 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,482,898 | 4,048,128 |
| 202005 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,246,893 | 4,058,486 |
| 202006 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,484,707 | 4,161,896 |
| 202007 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,774,810 | 4,312,299 |
| 202008 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,145,021 | 4,063,732 |
| 202009 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,647,466 | 4,294,465 |
| 202010 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,803,092 | 4,364,759 |
| 202011 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,582,833 | 4,315,533 |
| 202012 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,064,637 | 4,456,604 |
| 202101 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,711,380 | 4,397,501 |
| 202102 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,337,845 | 4,251,260 |
| 202103 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,128,972 | 4,548,989 |
| 202104 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,895,418 | 4,476,166 |
| 202105 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,597,338 | 4,378,480 |
| 202106 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,015,535 | 4,524,209 |
| 202107 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,015,648 | 4,504,288 |
| 202108 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,712,340 | 4,375,656 |
| 202109 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,043,242 | 4,527,264 |
| 202110 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,760,710 | 4,413,252 |
| 202111 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,041,873 | 4,537,424 |
| 202112 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,359,313 | 4,633,597 |
| 202201 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,002,208 | 4,545,969 |
| 202202 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,563,322 | 4,376,650 |
| 202203 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,431,181 | 4,719,992 |
| 202204 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,939,241 | 4,495,458 |
| 202205 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,245,515 | 4,628,268 |
| 202206 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,058,274 | 4,550,639 |
| 202207 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,014,473 | 4,525,209 |
| 202208 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,230,944 | 4,584,613 |
| 202209 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,194,452 | 4,594,909 |
| 202210 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,127,875 | 4,587,687 |
| 202211 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,309,906 | 4,664,342 |
| 202212 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,289,949 | 4,619,255 |
| 202301 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,343,123 | 4,692,089 |
| 202302 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,768,209 | 4,475,530 |
| 202303 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,741,761 | 4,855,340 |
| 202304 | Antidepressant drugs | 6,931,474 | 4,534,912 |
| 202305 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,405,364 | 4,726,470 |
| 202306 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,521,922 | 4,762,836 |
| 202307 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,336,821 | 4,712,254 |
| 202308 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,503,603 | 4,740,969 |
| 202309 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,356,603 | 4,724,373 |
| 202310 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,489,082 | 4,773,671 |
| 202311 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,570,573 | 4,817,941 |
| 202312 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,499,031 | 4,775,328 |
| 202401 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,779,451 | 4,911,179 |
| 202402 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,304,933 | 4,733,282 |
| 202403 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,432,725 | 4,786,409 |
| 202404 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,676,345 | 4,874,877 |
| 202405 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,864,727 | 4,923,601 |
| 202406 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,320,400 | 4,740,166 |
| 202407 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,982,102 | 4,965,061 |
| 202408 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,668,942 | 4,846,789 |
| 202409 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,533,431 | 4,833,319 |
| 202410 | Antidepressant drugs | 8,012,519 | 5,005,981 |
| 202411 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,668,241 | 4,904,860 |
| 202412 | Antidepressant drugs | 7,863,935 | 4,942,943 |
Over the 12 months to December, an average of 4.9 million patients per month received prescribing for antidepressants.
Compared to the previous 12 month period, antidepressant items increased by 4.1% in the 12 months to December.
3. Sections in this release
- Medicines used in Mental Health summary
- BNF Section 4.1 - Hypnotics and anxiolytics
- BNF Section 4.2 - Drugs used in psychoses and related disorders
- BNF Section 4.4 - Central nervous system (CNS) stimulants and drugs used for ADHD
- BNF Section 4.11 - Drugs for dementia
- Prescribing during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Medicines used in Mental Health background