Study highlights urgent shortage of evidence for safe withdrawal from antidepressants ANI | Updated: Apr 23, 2021 11:42 IST
Southampton [UK], April 23 (ANI): The findings of a new study suggest that while much is known about the ever-increasing uptake of antidepressant medications around the world, there is very little evidence on safe and effective approaches to discontinuing treatment.
The findings of the study were published in the journal Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews .
In 2020, there were 78 million prescriptions for antidepressants in England, and about half of the patients treated have taken them for at least two years. Guidelines typically recommend that antidepressants be taken for up to 6 to 12 months after improvement, or for up to two years in people at risk of relapse, but many people take antidepressants for much longer.
University of Southampton: Urgent shortage of evidence for safe withdrawal from antidepressants
indiaeducationdiary.in - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from indiaeducationdiary.in Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Urgent shortage of evidence for safe withdrawal from antidepressants
eurekalert.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eurekalert.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Lead author of the review, GP and emeritus professor of general practice at the University of Queensland, Mieke van Driel, said the researchers compared different approaches and looked at benefits, such as successful stopping rates, and harms reported during and after stopping. Withdrawal symptoms and harms reported during stopping included insomnia, low mood, anxiety and changes to appetite, but these can also be symptoms of a return of depression.
“In a nutshell there was only very low certainty evidence on the pros and cons of each of the different approaches to stopping, making it difficult to reach any firm conclusions at this time,” van Driel said. “The key issue is that studies do not distinguish between symptoms of a return or relapse of depression and symptoms of withdrawal after stopping, and that’s really problematic.”