ArticleJournal of affective disorders2021
Discontinuation of antidepressants: Is there a minimum time on treatment that will reduce relapse risk?
Article in Journal of affective disorders, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Antidepressants in Bipolar Depression: From Neurotransmitter Mechanisms to Clinical Challenges.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2025Review
- Perspectives on the ketogenic diet as a non-pharmacological intervention for major depressive disorder.Trends in psychiatry and psychotherapy · 2025Review
- Discontinuation of Antidepressants and the Risk of Medication Resumption among Community-Dwelling Older Adults with Depression in the US.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation as a countermeasure for behavioral and neuropsychological risks of long-duration and deep-space missions.NPJ microgravity · 2024Article
- Patterns, predictors, and patient-reported reasons for antidepressant discontinuation in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys.Psychological medicine · 2024Review
- Pharmacological Treatment of Functional Dyspepsia: An Old Story Revisited or a New Story to Be Told? A Clinical Review.GE Portuguese journal of gastroenterology · 2023Review
- Priorities for future research on reducing and stopping psychiatric medicines using a James Lind Alliance priority setting partnership: The PROTECT study protocol.HRB open research · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSeveral national guidelines include recommendations for a minimum duration of antidepressant treatment, but these vary from 4-9 months after remission. We aimed to investigate whether there is an optimal minimum duration of antidepressant treatment to reduce relapse risk.
methodsA Danish population-based cohort study among 89,442 adults who initiated antidepressants for depression treatment aged 18-60 years, from 2006-2015. We defined antidepressant discontinuation as ≥30 days without treatment. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to indicate the risk of restarting antidepressants among those who discontinued antidepressants with <4, 4-6, and 7-9 months of use compared with discontinuation after 10-12 months.
resultsFor individuals on antidepressant treatment <4, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12 months, cumulative incidence of restarting treatment within one year was 37.4% (95% CI: 36.9-37.8%), 35.1% (95% CI: 34.6-35.7%), 35.0% (95% CI: 34.2-35.8%) and 32.8% (95% CI: 31.7-34.0%), respectively. Individuals on antidepressants <10 months versus 10-12 months had higher risk of restarting antidepressants: the HR for antidepressant treatment <4 months was 1.21 (95% CI: 1.16-1.27), 4-6 months 1.11 (95% CI: 1.06-1.17), and 7-9 months 1.09 (95% CI: 1.04-1.15). LIMITATIONS: We were not able to ascertain the reasons why individuals discontinued antidepressants, and systematic errors from unmeasured confounders cannot be ruled out.
conclusionsBased on our findings, a minimum of 10-12 months of treatment appears to be preferable if there is concern about relapse after discontinuation.
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