Millions of people around the world take antidepressants to treat depression, despite the long-running debate over how effective these medications really are. Now, a large study provides evidence that antidepressants really do work, compared to placebos, at treating acute depression in adults.
The study examined data from 522 randomized controlled trials testing 21 various antidepressants, TIME reports. The researchers likewise reached out to pharmaceutical companies and other researchers to gather unpublished study data on the matter. In total, the study had 116,477 men and women over the age of 18 who were diagnosed with depression and were treated for at least eight weeks.
The researchers were surprised to find that every type of antidepressant they looked at was more effective at treating symptoms of depression over time compared to a placebo. The drug was considered “effective” if it was able to reduce symptoms by 50% or more.
Andrea Cipriani of the University of Oxford, lead study author, said,
We were open to any result. This is why we can say this is the final answer to the controversy.
The study also found that some kinds of antidepressants were more effective than others. The best at treating depression were Agomelatine (under several brand names, including Valdoxan, Melitor and Thymanax), amitriptyline (Elavil), escitalopram (Lexapro), mirtazapine (Remeron), paroxetine (Paxil), venlafaxine (Effexor XR) and vortioxetine (Trintellix). The least effective turned out to be Fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine (Faverin), reboxetine (Edronax) and trazodone (Desyrel).
The study also evaluated acceptability of antidepressants by analyzing the proportion of people who stopped participating before eight weeks. And while antidepressants are a common form of treatment, around a third of the people who take them don’t respond to treatment. And when the drugs do work, it can take four to eight weeks.
Cipriani said, “This is the largest and most robust study ever in antidepressants, and we found good news that they work, and outweigh the side effects.”
The study was published in The Lancet.
