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Individuals who have been taking antidepressants for greater than two years are considerably extra prone to expertise withdrawal signs in comparison with short-term customers once they come off the treatment, finds a brand new research led by UCL researchers.
Lengthy-term customers additionally are likely to expertise worse withdrawal signs, and for an extended time period, than short-term customers, and are much less doubtless to have the ability to cease taking the drug once they try to take action, based on the findings printed in Psychiatry Analysis.
The research’s lead creator, Dr. Mark Horowitz, visiting medical researcher at UCL Division of Psychiatry, stated, “Our findings verify what many researchers have lengthy suspected: that the chance of experiencing withdrawal signs when coming off antidepressants is basically decided by length of use.
“While coming off antidepressants can be easier for people who have only taken them for a short period of time, these drugs are commonly used for a long time. Half of those in the UK who take antidepressants have taken the medication for at least a year, and the majority of US antidepressant users have been taking them for over two years.”
The research was primarily based on survey responses from 310 contributors in England who had been accessing NHS major care remedy providers, and who had at one level tried to cease taking their prescribed antidepressant. Most contributors—62%—reported that antidepressants had been useful to them.
Respondents had been requested about an intensive record of potential withdrawal signs, and self-reported whether or not the signs had been gentle, reasonable, or extreme. Throughout the entire group, 79% reported a minimum of one withdrawal symptom and 45% skilled signs they labeled as reasonable or extreme (30% and 15%, respectively).
Throughout your entire group, 38% stated they had been unable to cease antidepressants once they tried to take action, rising to 79% amongst individuals who had been taking antidepressants for 2 years or extra.
As some withdrawal signs (akin to nervousness, worsened temper, agitation and fatigue) overlap with melancholy and nervousness signs and will signify relapse, the researchers additionally separated these out to seek out that 76% of respondents skilled a minimum of one non-emotional withdrawal symptom akin to dizziness, headache, vertigo, or nausea, whereas 43% skilled 4 or extra non-emotional signs.
In an evaluation carried out by researchers within the UCL Division of Psychology & Language Sciences, the group discovered that how lengthy somebody had been on an antidepressant was the key figuring out issue for incidence, severity, and length of withdrawal results, and whether or not somebody was capable of cease taking the treatment.
The variations between short-term and long-term customers weren’t defined by the severity of the underlying melancholy or nervousness dysfunction.
The researchers discovered that the percentages of experiencing any withdrawal results had been 10 occasions higher for many who had been on antidepressants for greater than two years, in comparison with those that had been taking them for lower than six months.
Amongst individuals who had been taking antidepressants for 2 years or extra, 64% reported reasonable or extreme withdrawal results (25% reported extreme results), whereas amongst those that had been taking the treatment for six months or much less, the bulk (73%) reported both no withdrawal results or solely gentle signs, with solely 7% experiencing extreme withdrawal signs.
For long-term customers, 30% reported withdrawal signs lasting greater than three months, with 12% experiencing such signs for greater than a 12 months, whereas solely 10.5% of short-term customers skilled withdrawal signs for greater than three months. For many short-term customers, withdrawal signs resolved in underneath 4 weeks.
Dr. Horowitz stated, “This is one reason to use antidepressants for no longer than necessary—because doing so may make it harder to stop using them later on.”
The researchers say that one limitation of the research is that the survey response price was lower than one in 5 (18%). Respondents could have been extra motivated to reply the survey in the event that they skilled withdrawal signs, though the survey was not solely centered on withdrawal.
Whereas the researchers requested whether or not individuals had been easing themselves off antidepressants slowly with a tapering method, or quitting abruptly, the outcomes had been inconclusive as not sufficient contributors had been tapering for greater than 4 weeks.
The researchers say that as different research have advised that tapering is helpful, additional analysis is required into how finest to taper from antidepressants, and the way it can mitigate withdrawal signs.
Senior creator Professor Joanna Moncrieff (UCL Division of Psychiatry) stated, “Withdrawal symptoms are commonly experienced by people coming off antidepressants, so we would advise that people who want to stop taking the medication should do so in consultation with an informed health professional.”
Extra data:
Mark A. Horowitz et al, Antidepressants withdrawal results and length of use: a survey of sufferers enrolled in major care psychotherapy providers, Psychiatry Analysis (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116497
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Antidepressant withdrawal signs extra frequent amongst long-term customers, research finds (2025, Might 22)
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