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Antidepressants and age: A new form of evidence for U-shaped well-being through life

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  • Blanchflower, David G.
  • Oswald, Andrew J.

Abstract

A growing literature argues that mental well-being follows an approximate U-shape through life. Yet in the eyes of some scholars this evidence remains controversial. The reason is that it relies on people’s answers to ‘happiness’ surveys. The present paper explores a different approach. It examines modern data on the use of antidepressant pills (as an implicit signal of mental distress) in 27 European nations. The regression-adjusted probability of using antidepressants reaches a peak in people’s late 40s. This pattern – one that does not rely on well-being survey answers – is thus consistent with the claim that human beings experience a midlife low.

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  • Blanchflower, David G. & Oswald, Andrew J., 2016. "Antidepressants and age: A new form of evidence for U-shaped well-being through life," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 46-58.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:127:y:2016:i:c:p:46-58
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2016.04.010
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    Cited by:

    1. Hermien Dijk & Jochen Mierau, 2023. "Mental health over the life course: Evidence for a U‐shape?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(1), pages 155-174, January.
    2. Hung-Lin Tao, 2019. "Marriage and Happiness: Evidence from Taiwan," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(6), pages 1843-1861, August.
    3. Blanchflower, David G. & Bryson, Alex, 2022. "Taking the pulse of nations: A biometric measure of well-being," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    4. Katolik, Aleksandra & Oswald, Andrew J., 2017. "Antidepressants for Economists and Business-School Researchers: An Introduction and Review," Die Unternehmung - Swiss Journal of Business Research and Practice, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 71(4), pages 448-463.
    5. Blanchflower, David G., 2020. "Unhappiness and age," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 461-488.
    6. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2021. "Biden, COVID and Mental Health in America," NBER Working Papers 29040, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Bell, David N.F. & Blanchflower, David G., 2019. "The well-being of the overemployed and the underemployed and the rise in depression in the UK," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 180-196.
    8. John F. Helliwell & Haifang Huang & Max B. Norton & Shun Wang, 2019. "Happiness at Different Ages: The Social Context Matters," Springer Books, in: Mariano Rojas (ed.), The Economics of Happiness, chapter 0, pages 455-481, Springer.
    9. Takis Venetoklis, 2019. "Do interactions cancel associations of subjective well-being with individual-level socioeconomic characteristics? An exploratory analysis using the European Social Survey," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(6), pages 3033-3061, November.
    10. Strulik, Holger, 2019. "An economic theory of depression and its impact on health behavior and longevity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 269-287.
    11. Piper, Alan, 2023. "Age and Happiness," MPRA Paper 117556, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Bütikofer, Aline & Cronin, Christopher J. & Skira, Meghan M., 2020. "Employment effects of healthcare policy: Evidence from the 2007 FDA black box warning on antidepressants," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    13. O'Connor, Kelsey J. & Graham, Carol, 2019. "Longer, more optimistic, lives: Historic optimism and life expectancy in the United States," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 374-392.
    14. David G. Blanchflower, 2020. "Is Happiness U-shaped Everywhere? Age and Subjective Well-being in 132 Countries," NBER Working Papers 26641, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Blanchflower, David G. & Piper, Alan, 2022. "There is a mid-life low in well-being in Germany," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    16. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2024. "The female happiness paradox," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(1), pages 1-27, March.
    17. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2022. "Union Membership Peaks in Midlife," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(1), pages 124-151, March.
    18. Katolik, Aleksandra & Oswald, Andrew J., 2017. "Antidepressants for Economists and Business-School Researchers: An Introduction and Review," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 338, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    19. David G. Blanchflower & Carol L. Graham, 2022. "The Mid-Life Dip in Well-Being: a Critique," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 287-344, May.
    20. David N. F. Bell & David G. Blanchflower, 2021. "The U‐shape of happiness in Scotland," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 68(4), pages 407-433, September.
    21. Lucy Prior & Kelvyn Jones & David Manley, 2020. "Ageing and cohort trajectories in mental ill-health: An exploration using multilevel models," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-14, July.
    22. Begoña Álvarez, 2022. "The Best Years of Older Europeans’ Lives," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 227-260, February.
    23. Biermann, Philipp & Bitzer, Jürgen & Gören, Erkan, 2022. "The relationship between age and subjective well-being: Estimating within and between effects simultaneously," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Well-being; Aging; Antidepressants; Mental health; Depression; Happiness; Easterlin paradox;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being

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