Antidepressant use is soaring among older Britons. But there’s been no significant change in the number of depressed British seniors. It’s yet another example of an exploding global trend that’s affecting the United States as well, say researchers.

Britons age 65 and older are taking antidepressants at more than double the rate they were two decades ago, reported scientists from the University of East Anglia. The increase could be due to improved recognition and treatment of depression, overprescribing, or use of antidepressants for other conditions, said Carol Brayne, director of the Cambridge Institute of Public Health.

“Whatever the explanation, substantial increases in prescribing has not reduced the prevalence of depression in the over-65 population. The causes of depression in older people, the factors that perpetuate it, and the best ways to manage it remain poorly understood and merit more attention,” she said.

The findings mirror a global trend, investigators say. In the United States, antidepressant use among the general public increased by nearly 65% between 1999 and 2014. And 19% of Americans over age 60 reported taking antidepressants in the past month, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. The people most likely to use the drugs are older adults, women and non-hispanic whites, it found.

Brayne says her study may also suggest a problem with antidepressant overprescribing. In those cases, there can be resistance to antidepressant tapering among residents, their families and nurses alike, McKnight’s has reported.

The study appeared in The British Journal of Psychiatry