The number of people taking antipsychotic drugs in Lazio almost doubled between 2000 and 2006, a report by health watchdog Osservasalute has revealed. In 2006, 6.01 out of every 1,000 people in the region were on prescribed antipsychotics, compared to 3.3 in 2000. The number of people on antidepressants in Lazio tripled over the same period, although hovering slightly below the national average of 30.08 out of every 1,000 people.

People living in Lazio are meanwhile more likely to smoke, with 24.7 per cent of the population lighting up compared to the national average of 22 per cent.

However, the news was not all gloomy: life expectancy in Lazio increased between 2002 and 2006. The average life expectancy for women in 2006 was 83.5, up from 81 in 2002, while men were living to an average of 78 in 2006, up from 76.9 in 2002.