Contents page 1 — The Brexit can ill page 2 — rise of a racist “hate crimes,” according to the Brexit Referendum On a page
imagine that Germany would have to think about a Reform of the health insurance system and no one would talk about it, whether that makes people healthier or sicker. Unimaginable? True. Because, of course, health can affect policy, as well as it’s citizens.
Anders, it looks, when it comes, for example, energy policy, migration policy, security policy or foreign policy. Or people ask the question that political discourse is conducted – quiet and thoughtful, or full of hatred and malice? How all of these areas and issues also affect our health, in public discourses, in the case of electoral promises and party programs. It has long been felt.
The most recent example of this is dramatically. It comes from the UK, where the British 2016 with a wafer-thin majority, have decided to withdraw from the EU. A study released today in the magazine the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (Vandoros et al., 2018), shows that after the Brexit vote, the number of prescribed antidepressants increase significantly. The Brexit, the authors write, was a “unique natural Experiment to investigate the influence of a major social event on the mental health”. The reason is that Many people did not expect the Brexit, and woke up on the Morning of the 24. June 2016, a day after the Referendum, in a completely new reality. Unlike many other political decisions, the Brexit a unique date, you could use it as a starting point for the Experiment. And that makes analysis much more accurate.
More antidepressants, no matter whether to remain or leave
For the Brexit effect, the researchers examined the inside of the prescribed daily doses of antidepressants in the UK between 2011 and 2016. And indeed, The antidepressants consumption increased after the Brexit. However, the study noted authors, that the number of antidepressants prescriptions prescription in the previous years was increased. This continues a General Trend?
To exclude the compared preparations, the scientists, the number of prescribed antidepressants with other medications such as gout agents, or Iron. And while the had increased from 2011 to Brexit vote together with the antidepressants prescriptions, decreased their number, after the Brexit vote again – so in contrast to the number of anti-depressants. This used difference-in-differences approach would suggest, write the scientists, that there is a direct connection with the Brexit-Voting. An interesting side-effect of the study is that people in regions where more than 60 percent for the Brexit had voted, it was not better than the other.
Big events leave traces in the Psyche
Now, the results argue. On the one hand, it is only an observational study and the results should be interpreted carefully. And also, just due to the mood of the British men and women in the number of prescribed antidepressants just close. Some will say therefore that we should dismiss the study as unsystematic noise in the prescribing practices of British physicians and Medical scientists.
But it is not so easy. Because the study is included in a variety of studies, the Similar show. Major social, political, and economic events often leave traces in the Psyche of people. For example, 17 percent of U.S.-Americans showed two months after the attacks of September 11. September symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (JAMA: Silver et al., 2002). In addition, scientists have shown researchers that people who are afraid of losing their Job, more depressive behaviors (example: Social Science & Medicine: Burgard et al., 2009). Sometimes more people commit suicide (the Lancet: Reeves et al commit, in phases of economic downturn, may also., 2012).
