Addressing adherence to antidepressant treatment for depression

Explanatory models of depression and treatment adherence to antidepressant medication: a qualitative interview study.

BACKGROUND Adherence to antidepressant medication is a challenging clinical issue, which reduces treatment efficacy: 30-60% of all patients commencing treatment with antidepressants are estimated to stop taking the medication within the first 12 weeks. Patients' personal beliefs about depression and antidepressants are regarded as central influences on adherence. OBJECTIVES The aim was to gai...

Adherence to guidelines for treatment of depression in in-patients.

BACKGROUND Adherence to treatment guidelines enhances treatment outcome. However, in clinical practice many patients with depression do not receive appropriate treatment. AIMS To evaluate the treatment of depression in in-patients of German psychiatric hospitals with respect to treatment outcome and adherence to guidelines. METHOD We recruited 1202 in-patients with depression from ten diffe...

Antidepressant treatment of depression: a metaanalysis.

OBJECTIVE To carry out a metaanalysis of antidepressant studies to calculate the effect sizes for antidepressant effect in depressive disorder. METHOD A metaanalysis of all antidepressant studies that included an active comparison drug as well as placebo was used to calculate the effect size. Articles were selected from a MEDLINE search for the period January 1966 to June 1995. Forty-nine stu...

Treatment of childhood depression with antidepressant drugs.

Discontinuing antidepressant treatment in major depression.

Maintenance treatments in bipolar disorders and schizophrenia are securely established, and their discontinuation is associated with high but modifiable risk of early relapse. The benefits of long-term antidepressant treatment in major depression and the risks of discontinuing medication at various times after clinical recovery from acute depression are not as well defined. Computerized searchi...