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According to new guidelines issued by the English National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), withdrawal from antidepressants must be done step by step, by gradually reducing the doses received by the patient and with the help of a health professional.
Antidepressants are medications prescribed to fight depression in its severe forms. The English National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has taken an interest in how these drugs should be stopped. He believes that care services must work with patients to assess when to stop treatment and organize withdrawal.
Do not treat mild depression with medication
To avoid this problem, the English health authority first recommends avoiding antidepressants for patients suffering from mild depression. NICE recommends instead to treat them with “behavioral therapy” or “group exercises” before considering a prescription for drugs.
Interviewed by the BBC, Dr Paul Chrisp, NICE guidelines manager explains that “in many cases, people experience withdrawal symptoms and the time it takes them to safely stop these medications can vary.”
Potentially serious symptoms when stopping treatment
Already in 2019, NICE changed its guidelines to recognize that for some, the “severe” side effects of stopping antidepressants can last “months or longer” with symptoms such as “confusion, anxiety, sweating, sleep problems and altered feelings.”
“VSThis is why staggered withdrawal of these drugs is welcome” adds Dr. Chrisp, clarifying “that it should be emphasized that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to getting rid of antidepressants“.
Take better account of ethnic minorities
According to the English National Health Service, the number of prescriptions for antidepressants has reached an all-time high, with 8.3 million people treated with this type of drug in the United Kingdom. In parallel, it is shown that one in six adults aged 16 or over faced depression in the summer of 2021 in the country.
However, disparities exist between populations, because in 2021, only “11.9% of people from mixed, Black, Black British, Asian or Asian British families had treatment for depression, compared to 79.9% of people from white families“. Hence the need to take better account of minorities who may not have access to this type of treatment.