Antidepressants ineffective in children and young adults, study finds

Another meta-analysis calls drug-based therapy into question.

Medications aimed at treating mental disorders have proven to be very useful in clinical practice, but they also have their drawbacks. Although in many cases they mitigate certain symptoms that negatively affect the quality of life of those who suffer from them, it is also true that in all cases they have side effects. in all cases they have side effects on the patient's body..

The side effects, as well as the dependence that certain psychotropic drugs can generate, make it worth exploring alternatives.

Drugs to treat mental problems in children: a good idea?

When the potential customers of these substances are younger people, such as children and adolescents, the possibility of using invasive methods to alter the biological dynamics occurring in their nervous system is even more dangerous, considering that the changes produced at such early ages can be decisive in their growth.

That is why an ambitious meta-analysis of several studies has recently been carried out in which the efficacy of antidepressants in children and young people of both sexes was evaluated.. The results, published in the scientific journal The Lancet, show that these drugs are much less effective than previously thought, or at least as far as their effects on the young are concerned. In fact, they may increase the risk of suicidal thoughts (and behaviors).

How was the meta-analysis conducted?

The meta-analysis was conducted by a team of researchers led by Dr. Andrea Cipriani, University of Oxford. It includes a review and statistical analysis based on 34 trials based on the efficacy of 14 antidepressants in young people. In total, the children and adolescents studied among all the research from which the meta-analysis was based made up a total of 5260 individuals.

Among the factors taken into account in the meta-analysis was, of course, the efficacy of antidepressants, but also their adverse effects, discontinuation and tolerance to their side effects..

Results: some antidepressants do not work

The most effective Antidepressant found was, judging by the results of the meta-analysis, fluoxetine. However, the most important finding made from this study is that the rest of the antidepressants showed an efficacy that could be considered very low at most. In fact, they did not show an effectiveness superior to that of placebo. Imipramine, duloxetine and venlafaxine, moreover, generated such strong adverse effects that the treatment was interrupted, something that does not occur with the placebo. In the case of the latter (venlafaxine), a significant correlation was detected between taking this antidepressant and the occurrence of suicidal thoughts.

It is clear that the efficacy of this type of medication should not be taken for granted simply because the intake of these substances appears to have an obvious effect on mental processes**: these effects need not be those that were intended to be generated**. Moreover, psychopharmacological treatments that are effective in adults may not necessarily be equally beneficial in younger people, since their bodies and the biological processes occurring in their neuroendocrine system are different from those of mature human beings.

No conclusions should be drawn

However, it is worth emphasizing the fact that, although the findings of a meta-analysis may be more important than those of a single investigation based on a small group of people studied, this study has limitations that make it impossible to draw any conclusions, this study has limitations that mean that we cannot take its findings as the absolute truth..

Firstly, because it is such a massive meta-analysis based on a large amount of information, the team that carried it out could not access the microdata used in the studies on which they were based, so they had to rely in part on the good work of the scientists who preceded them.

In addition, the fact that we worked on the basis of research carried out independently of each other meant that, in part, the data that were crossed in the statistical analysis were not entirely comparable, since they referred to slightly different situations and somewhat different methods.

For this reason, this meta-analysis This meta-analysis should therefore be seen as a basis for further research, rather than as a compelling reason for further investigation.and not as a compelling reason to discontinue antidepressant treatment immediately.