Patients weaning themselves off antidepressants may be far more likely to suffer debilitating side effects than research suggests, experts claimed today.
The commonly-prescribed drugs — taken by millions — have long been known to potentially trigger symptoms including dizziness, headaches, insomnia and nausea when coming off them.
But a major study in June claimed these withdrawal signs were not as risky as feared, with only one in six on average experiencing them when stopping the pills.
And just two to three per cent suffer severe symptoms, according to the results published in The Lancet Psychiatry.
Yet, researchers from Brazil and the UK today claimed the paper significantly ‘downplayed’ the risk, with the figure actually up to four times higher.
The powerful drugs — taken by millions — have long been known to potentially trigger symptoms including dizziness, headaches, insomnia and nausea when coming off them
This NHS data shows the number of Brits taking each type of antidepressant medication over the past eight years. The line with the green triangles indicates the the total number of patients
Antidepressant use has soared in recent years, despite growing debate among experts about the effectiveness of the drugs in treating depression.
In the June study, scientists in Germany assessed 79 pieces of research involving over 21,000 patients who were prescribed a range of antidepressants.
They discovered 15 per cent of users experience one or more complaints directly caused by stopping the pills.
Of the 11 separate antidepressants, citalopram, sertraline and fluoxetine — the most commonly used in the UK — had the lowest chances of suffering withdrawal symptoms.
Stopping taking imipramine, paroxetine and venlafaxine was also associated with a higher risk of severe symptoms compared with other antidepressants, they said.
But Professor John Read, from the University of East London and Dr James Davies, from Roehampton University, today claimed ‘at least half of people suffer withdrawal symptoms’.
Writing in The Lancet Psychiatry, they said the researchers ‘base their own estimates primarily on studies averaging 25 weeks duration, with nearly half of the included studies assessing antidepressant use for only up to 12 weeks.
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‘The typical antidepressant user, however, takes these drugs for several years.’
They added: ‘Although future research will determine which of the two estimates is more accurate, somewhere between 1.2 million (15 per cent) and 4.7 million (56 per cent) of the 8.7 million people prescribed antidepressants in England alone last year will experience withdrawal effects when they try to reduce or stop taking antidepressants.
‘NHS England recommends the development of services that help people safely withdraw from psychiatric drugs, but downplaying withdrawal effects can reduce the chances of this happening.’
Previous 2019 research by the pair has also suggested 56 per cent of patients may experience such side effects.
In a second critique, scientists from the Federal University of Ceara in Brazil also said the study has ‘certain flaws’ including its ‘brief observation period’ to assess discontinuation symptoms.
Singer Lewis Capaldi has been honest about his struggle with side effects from antidepressants, describing problems with sexual dysfunction.
In almost a third of the 79 studies analysed, they also did not use ‘validated instruments’ for assessing antidepressant discontinuation symptoms, they added.
‘The occurrence of antidepressant discontinuation symptoms is a relevant area of study, the extent to which these symptoms occur remains unclear’, the researchers said.
Latest NHS data shows a record 8.7million people in England, about 15 per cent of the total population, are now on the mood-boosting drugs.
It marks at 26 per cent rise on the 6.8million who were on the drugs eight years prior.
The proportion of the population on antidepressants is as high as one in four in some parts of the country.
Women aged 55 to 59 were the biggest demographic on the drugs, accounting about one in 20 of the total.
However, medications like antidepressants can also be prescribed for other health conditions and this would be included in the data.
These include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and pain relief. Occasionally, they may also be prescribed to treat pain.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) remained the most common class of antidepressant drug in the UK, a position they have maintained for years.
Common SSRIs prescribed in the UK include citalopram, fluoxetine and sertraline, sometimes known by brand names Cipramil, Prozac and Lustral.
But their use has been linked to long-term and even permanent sexual dysfunction by researchers.
The NHS has warned that side effects such as a loss of libido and achieving orgasm, lower sperm count and erectile dysfunction ‘can persist’ after taking them — and patients have described feeling ‘carved out’, relationships wrecked, from their use.
Most medics, and the NHS, consider the use of SSRI for depression, particularly persistent or severe cases, as worthwhile given the debilitating nature of the condition.
Large-scale analyses have found that the pills reduce symptoms of depression in between 40 and 50 per cent of those who take them.
The libido-dampening nature of SSRIs was thrust into the spotlight last year by the Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi.
In a bare-all Netflix documentary, he spoke about taking it to help treat his anxiety and grimly commented on the knock-on effect it had on his sexual health.
‘They’re not really doing anything except I can’t get a f****** hard-on to save my life’, he said.
