Antidepressants have substantial effects on patients with severe depression, but minimal or nonexistent effects on those with moderate symptoms of depression, a new study shows. Antidepressants are no stronger than placebos in some cases.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at 718 adult outpatients, with moderate depression, using common antidepressants such as Prozac. Each of the subjects took either the antidepressant or placebo for 6 weeks at a time. Those who used the placebo recovered with proper psychoanalysis and therapy.
Even though the study combined analysis of data from 1980 to 2009, some critics argue the study was too small to tell the efficacy of antidepressants for the millions of Americans who use such medications.