Antidepressant use higher for women around breakups than men – study

The study found that grey divorce – at age 50 and older – is rising in high-income countries. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Women are more likely to use antidepressants following the breakdown of a relationship compared with men later in life, researchers have found.

The observational study, funded by the European Research Council and Academy of Finland, looked at 228,644 Finnish residents aged 50 to 70 between 1996 and 2018, who had all experienced a relationship breakup, divorce or bereavement between 2000 and 2014.