Antidepressants are highly effective and should be prescribed to millions more people with mental health problems, researchers declared last night.
After the largest-ever study, the Oxford University-led team said they had wanted to ‘give the final answer’ to the controversy of whether or not the pills effectively treat depression.
Their study, which examined 120,000 people in more than 500 trials across three decades, concluded emphatically that antidepressants do work.
And although prescription rates have soared in recent years – with 10 per cent of British adults now on antidepressants – the researchers warned that only one in six people was receiving effective treatment for depression, suggesting that millions more should be given the pills.
They hope their findings will encourage GPs to prescribe the drugs for people with the more severe forms of the illness.
Professor Andrea Cipriani, who led the six-year review of international research, said the findings were proof that antidepressants should be used more. He added: ‘Antidepressants are an effective tool for depression. To under-treat depression is a huge problem we need to be aware of. Not the right people are getting access.’
Professor John Geddes, Oxford’s head of psychiatry, said: ‘This isn’t just a bit of common unhappiness, this is a major mental health problem that really is devastating for an awful lot of human lives. Poor access to available treatment would not be tolerated if it related to high blood pressure or cancer.’
The researchers looked at the effectiveness of 21 antidepressants. The study, funded by the research arm of the NHS, found some were more effective than others, but concluded they all reduced symptoms of depression more than a placebo.
It found that half to two-thirds of patients – typically suffering with symptoms including loss of self-worth, tiredness, sadness and disturbed sleep – would benefit from treatment.
Professor Carmine Pariante, spokesman for the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: ‘This analysis finally puts to bed the controversy on antidepressants, clearly showing that these drugs do work in lifting mood and helping most people with depression.’
The report comes just months after a report ranked the UK fourth out of 29 Western countries in a league table of antidepressant use. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found people in the UK take nearly twice as many antidepressants as those in France, Italy or Holland, five times as many as those in Korea and eight times as many as in Latvia.
Glyn Lewis, professor of psychiatric epidemiology at University College London, said: ‘Antidepressants often receive a bad press but this paper shows they have a role in the management for people with depression.’
