ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2016
Long-term antidepressant use: a qualitative study on perspectives of patients and GPs in primary care.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Discontinuing antidepressant medication: a qualitative evidence synthesis and logic model based on health professionals' views.BMC health services research · 2025Pooled it
- Risk of relapse after antidepressant discontinuation in anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis of relapse prevention trials.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2017Pooled it
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- Structured Online Support to Inform and Assist Antidepressant Deprescribing in Primary Care (WiserAD Tool): Protocol for a Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Barriers and facilitators to antidepressant deprescribing - A qualitative interview study with general practitioners in Germany.The European journal of general practice · 2025Article
- Healthcare Providers' Perspectives on Antidepressant Discontinuation: A Focus Group Study.Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology · 2025Article
- Role of primary care in depression relapse: a qualitative study.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Article
- Article
- The role of empathy in antidepressant withdrawal.Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- The lived experience of withdrawal from Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants: A qualitative interview study.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Article
- Lived experiences of adults' non-compliance with psychiatric medication for depression.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2024Article
- Prevalence, trends, and individual patterns of long-term antidepressant medication use in the adult Swiss general population.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2023Article
- Article
- Experience of antidepressant use and discontinuation: A qualitative synthesis of the evidence.Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing · 2023Review
- Article
- General Practice Patients' Experiences and Perceptions of the WiserAD Structured Web-Based Support Tool for Antidepressant Deprescribing: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Case Study With Realist Evaluation.JMIR research protocols · 2022Article
- General practitioners' perspectives on discontinuation of long-term antidepressants in nursing homes.The European journal of general practice · 2022Article
- Antidepressant medication prescribing patterns in Irish general practice from 2016 to 2020 to assess for long-term use.Irish journal of medical science · 2022Article
- 'Never change a winning team': GPs' perspectives on discontinuation of long-term antidepressants.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAntidepressant use is often prolonged in patients with anxiety and/or depressive disorder(s) compared with recommendations in treatment guidelines to discontinue after sustained remission.
aimTo unravel the motivations of patients and GPs causing long-term antidepressant use and to gain insight into possibilities to prevent unnecessary long-term use. DESIGN AND
settingQualitative study using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with patients and GPs in the Netherlands.
methodPatients with anxiety and/or depressive disorder(s) (n = 38) and GPs (n = 26) were interviewed. Innovatively, the interplay between patients and their GPs was also investigated by means of patient-GP dyads (n = 20).
resultsThe motives and barriers of patients and GPs to continue or discontinue antidepressants were related to the availability of supportive guidance during discontinuation, the personal circumstances of the patient, and considerations of the patient or GP. Importantly, dyads indicated a large variation in policies of general practices around long-term use and continuation or discontinuation of antidepressants. Dyads further indicated that patients and GPs seemed unaware of each other's (mismatching) expectations regarding responsibility to initiate discussing continuation or discontinuation.
conclusionAlthough motives and barriers to antidepressant continuation or discontinuation were related to the same themes for patients and GPs, dyads indicated discrepancies between them. Discussion between patients and GPs about antidepressant use and continuation or discontinuation may help clarify mutual expectations and opinions. Agreements between a patient and their GP can be included in a patient-tailored treatment plan.
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