Women in Malta twice as likely as men to take antidepressants

Women in Malta remain twice as likely as men to take antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication, despite a rise in male usage over the past decade, new survey data shows.

The ratio of women to men among current and recent users of prescription drugs for depression and anxiety was 3 to 1 in 2013.

A decade later, in 2023, the gap reduced to a ratio of 2 to 1, according to the ‘General Population Survey on Alcohol, Tobacco and Drug Use in Malta’ released recently.

Data shows that just over 10 per cent of women in 2023 were current users of prescription drugs, whereas under six per cent of men are current users. Ten years earlier, 10 per cent of women and just over three per cent of men were current users.

Researchers conducted a survey through phone calls with 3,500 people across different age groups and regions in 2023. Data provided comes with a margin of error of +/-1.65% at a 95% confidence level.

Data also shows that the rate of such prescription drug use has increased since 2001. The percentage of people who have taken prescription drugs in their lifetime went from almost 15 per cent in 2001 to almost 13 per cent in 2013 and to just over 17 per cent in 2023 –  roughly 42,000 individuals.

The overall increase is largely due to an increase in males and overall younger cohorts taking them.

In 2023, almost 14 per cent of male respondents reported using prescription drugs in their lifetime. This reflects a rise from seven per cent in 2013 and just over 10 per cent in 2001. Female respondents consistently reported higher rates throughout.

Data also showed that, whereas before these drugs were mainly popular with people aged 35 and above, younger people now show usage rates approaching those of older cohorts.

Supporting this, the mean age for lifetime prescription drug use decreased from 47 in 2001 to 45.2 in 2023.

Malta does not stand alone in this issue.

A European Commission study found that in 2019, women were more likely than men to have used prescription medicine in every member state.

Why do women take more prescription medicine?

Speaking to Times of Malta, gender studies professor Marceline Naudi said research abroad has shown that doctors are more likely to attribute physical causes to men’s symptoms, while women’s complaints are more often seen as linked to emotional or psychological causes.

“The stereotype that men should not feel vulnerable or sad, while a woman crying is considered normal, is still present. Studies have shown that health personnel, having absorbed these gender stereotypes, are also influenced by them in their daily work,” she said.

Women are also generally more likely to seek help than men, she said. This is another factor that ties to suicide rates being significantly higher among men. Global studies show that in some years, nine out of every 10 people who die by suicide are men.

An added challenge women face is that they continue to live in patriarchal societies that undermine their self-esteem and sense of self-worth, she added, making them more likely to experience unhappiness, resulting in increased use of antidepressants.

“To this day, women are still expected to shoulder the responsibility of being the primary default carers.”  This does not mean that men do not support and help with the caring role, she continued.

The study also found that women are almost twice as likely as men to take medical cannabis.

Women are also rapidly closing the gap with men in alcohol consumption, the study found. While men continue to be more likely to be alcohol drinkers than women, the gap between the two genders has dropped from 25% to 10% over the past 20 years, with male use declining and female use growing.

It also found that while the percentage of male smokers has plummeted from 2001 to 2023, for women it has remained virtually unchanged over the same period.