Gradually reducing antidepressant dosage along with structured psychological support can significantly improve the chances of safely discontinuing medication among adults who have recovered from depression, a new study showed on Friday.

Antidepressants are usually prescribed for six to nine months after a first episode of moderate-to-severe depression or anxiety to prevent relapse. However, concerns over long-term use, withdrawal symptoms and overprescribing have pushed the need for clearer, evidence-backed deprescribing methods.

To address this, researchers from the University of Verona, Italy, analysed 76 randomised controlled trials involving 17,379 adults in a systematic review and network meta-analysis published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

The study emphasised that the findings do no

See Full Page