Comparative Effectiveness of Second-Generation Antidepressants in the Pharmacologic Treatment of Adult Depression

Commonly prescribed antidepressants are similar in effectiveness to each other but differ when it comes to possible side effects, according to an analysis conducted by the federal Agency for Health Care Research and Quality. The findings, based on a review of nearly 300 published studies of second-generation antidepressants, show that about six in ten (60%) adult patients get some relief from the drugs. The same percentage (60%) also experience at least one side effect, ranging from nausea to sexual dysfunction.

Patients who don't respond to one of the drugs often try another medication within the same class. About one in four of those patients recover, according to the review. The analysis compared the drugs' benefits and risks in the treatment of major depressive disorder, dysthymia (a chronic, less severe form of depression), and subsyndromal depression (an acute mood disorder that is less severe than major depression).