Prescriptions for antidepressants rose after the Brexit referendum, a study has found.
The researchers compared prescriptions for antidepressants, as well as iron and anti-gout drugs – chosen because they were unlikely to be linked to depression, across England in the month of July for every year between 2011 and 2016.
Prescriptions for each drug rose every year, but for antidepressants, when compared with the other drugs, there was a spike in July 2016 – the month after the referendum on 23 June, according to the study reported by the Daily Mail.
The experts from King’s College London and Harvard University said antidepressant prescriptions rose 13% higher than the other drugs.
The researchers believe this increase was at least partially caused by increased uncertainty for some parts of the population.
Writing in the BMJ Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, the authors said the way the campaign was conducted may have contributed to this.
“There was much at stake in the run-up to the referendum – leaving the EU was expected to greatly affect the British economy and society,” they explained.