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Written question asked by Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party) on Wednesday, 17 December 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 5 January 2026. It was answered by Zubir Ahmed (Labour) on Monday, 5 January 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Depressive Illnesess: Young People

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many under 30s have been prescribed medication for depression.

Answer

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) does not collect data on the clinical indication of a prescription. Given this, it is not possible to deduce which prescriptions were prescribed for depression. Many drugs have multiple uses, for example, some drugs that are classified as antidepressants can be issued to treat migraine, chronic pain, myalgic encephalomyelitis, and a range of other conditions.

The NHS BSA publishes statistics on mental health, which includes British National Formulary section 4.3 ‘Antidepressants drugs’, prescribed in England that are then dispensed in the community in England, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands.

The following table shows the number of ‘unique patients’ in the latest quarterly statistics July-September 2025, aged 29 years old and under that were prescribed and dispensed antidepressants:

Time period

Total number of unique patients

July to September 2025

768,961

Source: Medicines Used in Mental Health – England, published by NHS England, available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/medicines-used-mental-health-england

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
100858
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Depressive illnesses Prescription drugs Young people
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk