Do antidepressants work?

New review advocates for a ‘more cautious prescribing practice’

Aerial view of pills
(Image credit: Adam Nieścioruk/Unsplash)

Doctors should focus on prescribing antidepressants to people with “severe depression” rather than more moderate or mild symptoms, given uncertainties over their effectiveness, a new study has found.

The review, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ)’s Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, suggests a “more cautious prescribing practice – with antidepressants given to fewer patients, for shorter periods of time”.

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