Why we are sceptical of antidepressant analysis | Letters

Academics dispute the claims made for these drugs in a recent study, while one long-term user recounts how they have worked for her and other readers point to the usefulness of meditation and community in fending off depression

It was disappointing to read such an uncritical description of the latest analysis of antidepressant trials that does not address doubts about the widespread use of these drugs (The drugs do work, says study of antidepressants, 22 February).

The analysis consists of comparing “response” rates between people on antidepressants and those on placebo. But “response” is an artificial category that has been arbitrarily constructed out of the data actually collected, which consists of scores on depression rating scales. Analysing categories inflates differences. When scores are compared, differences are trivial, and unlikely to be clinically relevant.

Continue reading... February 23, 2018 at 10:03PM