Mental Health News
A group of researchers at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, revealed that antidepressants do not improve quality of life for people who underwent diagnosis of depression disorder. The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE.
The Study
The researchers examined the actual impact of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of people with depression.
They conducted a comparative cohort, secondary database analysis of the data from the 2005–15 United States’ Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (MEPS). The MEPS files cataloged the mental health services used by Americans diagnosed with depression, including antidepressant medications, treatment procedures, follow-up interventions, etc. A cohort of patients who used antidepressants was compared to another cohort of patients who did not. Their HRQoL was measured using the SF-12 and reported as physical and mental component summaries (PCS and MCS, respectively).
The Findings
The results revealed no significant difference in the long-term HRQoL of patients with depression in the two cohorts. In fact, people treated with antidepressants for a period of two years did not lead a better life than those who did not take medication.
Given this ‘truth’ about the real-world effects of antidepressant medications, the researchers stressed on the need to re-evaluate “the role of cognitive and behavioral interventions on the long term-management of depression to improve the ultimate goal of care for these patients, [that is] improving their overall quality of life.”
To Know More You May Refer To
Almohammed, O. A., Alsalem, A. A., Almangour, A. A., Alotaibi, L. H., Al Yami, M. S., & Lai, L. (2022). Antidepressants and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for patients with depression: Analysis of the medical expenditure panel survey from the United States. PloS one, 17(4), e0265928. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265928