New class of antidepressants similar in efficacy but side effects differ, says AHRQ

Currently, the most commonly prescribed antidepressants are similar in effectiveness to each other but differ when it comes to possible side effects, according to an analysis released by the US Department of Health and Human Services'Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The AHRQ recently also issued a review on the lack of evidence supporting off-label use of atypical antipsychotics (Marketletter January 29).

The findings, based on a review of nearly 300 published studies of second-generation antidepressants, show that about six in 10 adult patients get some relief from the drugs, while around the same proportion also experience at least one side effect, ranging from nausea to sexual dysfunction.

Patients who do not respond to one of the drugs often try another medication within the same class. Around one in four of those subjects recover, according to the review. Overall, current evidence on the drugs is insufficient for clinicians to predict which will work best for individual patients.