How do we determine whether antidepressants are useful or not?

Abstract

Comments on an article by F. Hieronymus et al. (see record [rid]2019-40914-001[/rid]). The authors showed that SSRIs significantly improve scores in a subset of items in the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17), over and above placebo, after a treatment period of 6 weeks, irrespective of baseline depression severity. However, we think that some uncertainties exist that should temper the authors’ conclusion that the 'claim that antidepressants are useless for patients with non-severe depression has been premature and is misleading'. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Accession Number: 2019-64476-006. Partial author list: First Author & Affiliation: Horowitz, Mark; Department of Psychiatry, University College London, London, United Kingdom, mark_horo@hotmail.com. Other Publishers: David Collingdre. Release Date: 20200127. Publication Type: Journal (0100), Peer Reviewed Journal (0110). Format Covered: Electronic. Document Type: Comment/Reply. Language: English. Major Descriptor: Antidepressant Drugs; Drug Therapy; Major Depression; Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; Severity (Disorders). Minor Descriptor: Treatment Guidelines. Classification: Clinical Psychopharmacology (3340). References Available: Y. Page Count: 1. Issue Publication Date: Nov, 2019.