New research suggests that seniors receive prescriptions for mental health drugs more than twice the rate that younger adults do.

Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System found that although older Americans are less likely to be getting their mental health care from a psychiatrist, they receive have a much higher rate of doctor's visits where mental health drugs were prescribed.

"Our findings suggest that psychotropic medication use is widespread among older adults in outpatient care, at a far higher rate than among younger patients," Donovan Maust, who led the analysis, said in a statement. "In many cases, especially for milder depression and anxiety, the safer treatment for older adults who are already taking multiple medications for other conditions might be more therapy-oriented, but very few older adults receive this sort of care."

For the study, researchers collected and analyzed more than 100,000 outpatient visits to outpatient physicians between 2007 and 2010. They examined four types of visits: ones where patients received a mental health diagnosis; saw a psychiatrist; received psychotherapy; and/or received a prescription or renewal of a psychotropic medication (including antidepressants, anxiety-calming drugs called anxiolytics, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, or stimulant drugs).

They found that visits related to antidepressant and anti-anxiety drug use among older adults occurred at nearly double the rates of such visits by younger adults. In contrast, older adults see psychiatrists at about half the rate of younger adults (6.3 versus 12 visits per year per 100 people).

"While it's still true that we have patients who are not getting treated for mental health concerns, these data suggest that we also need to be mindful of the possibility of overtreatment, especially given the changing balance of risk and benefit as patients age," Maust said. "Collaborative care efforts in primary care that seek to create structure and support for these patients, along with appropriate reimbursement for this type of service, could be key."

The findings are detailed in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.