The study published in The Lancet Psychiatry evaluated medications prescribed for up to a year to determine their success in preventing recurring depressive episodes. While agomelatine and duloxetine also performed well, popular alternatives such as sertraline demonstrated no additional preventative advantage over fluoxetine. Clinicians continue to advise individuals recovering from depression, which impacts about one in six people in the UK, to stay on their medication for at least six months post-recovery before tapering off.
Key points
Medical specialists warn that patients should not abruptly change their medication becaus…: Medical specialists warn that patients should not abruptly change their medication because the statistical differences between the analyzed drugs remain modest.
Clinical guidelines advise individuals recovering from depression to continue taking pres…: Clinical guidelines advise individuals recovering from depression to continue taking prescribed antidepressants for a minimum of six months before gradually tapering off.
Comprehensive psychiatric care should incorporate non-pharmaceutical options such as mind…: Comprehensive psychiatric care should incorporate non-pharmaceutical options such as mindfulness and talking therapies alongside carefully monitored medication regimens.
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One drug comes out top in a large analysis, external of how effective antidepressants are at keeping patients free of symptoms of depression.
Escitalopram performed best at preventing patients from relapsing in a study involving nearly 10,000 people prescribed different medications for up to a year.
Two other pills - agomelatine and duloxetine - came next, while prozac (also known as fluoxetine) ranked just below them.
Experts stress the findings don't mean that everyone with severe depression should switch to escitalopram, or that other antidepressants aren't any good, because all the drugs can work and each has its pros and cons.
Depression is common, affecting around one in six people in the UK. With the right treatment and support, people can make a good recovery although for some their depression can return.
To prevent relapse, doctors already recommend people stay on antidepressants for at least six months after depression ends, and then taper off gradually.
The new analysis, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, looked at previous studies comparing the effectiveness of more than a dozen common antidepressants in…
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