South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Study of those with depression history highlights difficulty of stopping meds
A study of British patients with a long history of depression highlights how difficult it can be to stop medication, even for those who feel well enough to try.
Slightly more than half the participants who gradually discontinued their antidepressants relapsed within a year. By contrast, the relapse rate was lower — almost 40% — for those who remained on their usual medication during the study. Both groups had been taking daily doses of common antidepressants, had recovered from their most recent bout of depression and felt healthy enough to consider stopping the drugs.
Previous research has also shown relapse is common, and an editorial recently published with the study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests medication for life may be advised for some patients with several previous bouts.
Counseling and behavior therapy are other options for patients who want to stop antidepressants, and studies show those treatments combined with medication work well for many.
Few of the British patients in the government-funded study were receiving any kind of psychological treatment. Though the United Kingdom’s national health system offers it, it is difficult to access because of long waiting times for treatment, said Gemma Lewis, the study’s lead author and a researcher at University College London.
Depression is a mood disorder that can include persistent, debilitating feelings of sadness, hopelessness and loss of interest in activities. It affects about 5% of adults worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
Editorial author Dr. Jeffrey Jackson of Milwaukee’s Veterans Affairs Medical Center called the study results important but disappointing. But he also suggested that discontinuing antidepressants is possible for some patients.
“I encourage patients with a single bout of depression … to consider weaning antidepressant treatment after at least six months of remission,” Jackson wrote in the editorial.