Evidence on antidepressant withdrawal: an appraisal and reanalysis of a recent systematic review.

ABSTRACT:

Background

There has been debate about the frequency and severity of antidepressant withdrawal effects.

Methods

We set out to appraise and reanalyze an influential systematic review by Henssler and colleagues that concluded that withdrawal effects are not particularly common and rarely severe. We repeated the meta-analysis, including only studies where data were derived from systematic measures of withdrawal symptoms.

Results

Most data in the Henssler review are derived from pharmaceutical industry-sponsored efficacy studies in which withdrawal was a minor consideration. Shortcomings of the review include the use of spontaneously reported adverse events to estimate withdrawal symptoms, potential misclassification of withdrawal symptoms as relapse, inclusion of data fr

SUBMITTER: Moncrieff J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12315658 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature