Almost one in five people in Italy have taken psychoactive pills for various mental problems during the COVID crisis, the Eurispes research agency said Thursday.
Some 19% of respondents have taken anxiety tablets, antidepressants, mood stabilizers and antipsychotics, the institute said.
One in four of those interviews for the Eurispes Italy Report 2021 said they had seen a counselor or psychiatrist over the past year.
Of those who have taken pills, consumption is above average among older patients (22.5% of the over 65s) and less so among younger people (10.1% among the 18-24 age bracket).
More women than men have resorted to drugs, 21.2% against 16.7%.
A higher incidence was also recorded among those laid-off (27.2%, and pensioners (23.7%).
Some 27.2% of those who answered the questionnaire said they had seen a psychologist.
A further 5.6% said they had turned to a psychiatrist and been prescribed psychiatric drugs.
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