The vast majority of people taking antidepressants would be just as well off taking placebos, British researchers found.
Only a small group of the most severely depressed patients get a significant benefit from commonly prescribed drugs such as Prozac and Seroxat, according to the study published today.
Clinical trials of the new generation of antidepressants – known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) – showed they work no better than a placebo for patients with mild or even severe depression, the University of Hull researchers found.
Irving Kirsch, a professor of psychology who led the study team, found that most patients benefit just as much from physical therapy or psychotherapy as they can from drugs.
The study is the first to examine both published and unpublished trials of the effectiveness of the enormously popular SSRIs.
“The difference in improvement between patients taking placebos and patients taking antidepressants is not very great,” Kirsch said. “This means that depressed people can improve without chemical treatments.”
The new study, published today in the journal PLoS (Public Library of Science) Medicine, said all 47 clinical trials for the drugs came from data released by the US Food and Drug Administration under freedom of information rules.
With Times of London
and Post Wires