Antidepressants are not associated with improved long-term quality of life – Neuroscience News

Summary: Overall, people who used antidepressants to manage depression long-term had no better quality of physical or mental health than those with depression who did not use prescription drugs to manage their symptoms.

Source: OLP

Over time, the use of antidepressants is not associated with significantly better health-related quality of life, compared to people with depression who do not take the drugs.

These are the findings of a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Omar Almohammed of King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, and colleagues.

It is generally well known that depressive disorder has a significant impact on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients. While studies have shown the effectiveness of antidepressant medications for the treatment of depressive disorder, the effect of these medications on patients’ general well-being and HRQoL remains controversial.

In the new study, the researchers used data from the 2005-2015 United States Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a large longitudinal study that tracks the health services used by Americans. Anyone diagnosed with a depressive disorder was identified in MEPS records.

During the study, an average of 17.47 million adult patients were diagnosed with depression each year with a two-year follow-up, and 57.6% of them received treatment with antidepressants.

Antidepressant use was associated with some improvement on the mental component of the SF-12, the Health-Related Quality of Life Survey.

However, when this positive change was compared to change in a group of people who were diagnosed with a depressive disorder but did not take antidepressants, there was no statistically significant association of antidepressants with physique ( p = 0.9595) or the mind (p = 0.6405). ) component of the SF-12.

In other words, the change in quality of life seen in people on antidepressants over two years was not significantly different from that seen in those not taking the drugs.

The study was unable to separately analyze subtypes or different severities of depression. The authors say that future studies should investigate the use of non-pharmacological depression interventions used in combination with antidepressants.

The authors add: “Although we still need our patients with depression to continue using their antidepressant medications, long-term studies evaluating the real impact of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions on the quality of life of these patients are necessary. .

“That being said, the role of cognitive and behavioral interventions on the long-term management of depression needs to be further evaluated with the aim of improving the ultimate goal of care for these patients; improve their overall quality of life.

About this depression and psychopharmacology research news

Author: Hanna Abdullah
Source: OLP
Contact: Hanna Abdallah – PLOS
Picture: The image is credited to Christine Sandu

Original research: Free access.
“Antidepressants and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) for Patients with Depression: Analysis of the US Medical Expenditure Panel Survey” by Omar Almohammed et al. PLOS ONE

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Abstract

Antidepressants and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) for Patients with Depression: Analysis of the US Medical Expenditure Panel Survey

Background

Despite the empirical literature demonstrating the efficacy of antidepressant medications for the treatment of depressive disorder, the effect of these medications on patients’ general well-being and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) remains controversial. This study examines the effect of antidepressant use on patient-reported HRQoL in patients with depression.

Methods

A comparative cohort, secondary database analysis was conducted using data from the United States Medical Expenditure Panel Survey for Patients with Depression. HRQoL was measured using the SF-12 and reported as physical and mental component summaries (PCS and MCS). A cohort of patients taking antidepressants was compared to a cohort of patients not taking them. Univariate and multivariate difference-in-differences (DID) analyzes were used to assess the significance of the mean difference in change on PCS and MCS between baseline and follow-up.

Results

On average, 17.5 million adults were diagnosed with a depressive disorder each year during 2005-2016. The majority were women (67.9%), with a greater proportion receiving antidepressants (60.5% versus 51.5% of men). Although the use of antidepressants was associated with some improvement in MCS, univariate DID analysis revealed no significant difference between the two cohorts in PCS (–0.35 vs -0.34, p=0 .9595) or MCS (1.28 vs 1.13, p=0.6405). Multivariate DID analyzes ensured the robustness of these results.

Conclusion

The actual effect of using antidepressants does not continue to improve patients’ HRQoL over time. Future studies should not only focus on the short-term effect of pharmacotherapy, rather they should investigate the long-term impact of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions on the HRQoL of these patients.