December 15, 2003The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
Improving Adherence to Antidepressants
Authors
Discussion
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Implication
Systematic review finds collaborative care improves antidepressant adherence and clinical outcomes in unipolar depression, highlighting the value of integrated primary care.
Key Points
- To systematically evaluate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving adherence to antidepressant medication and clinical outcomes in patients with unipolar depression.
- Systematic review of English-language randomized controlled trials identified across MEDLINE (1966–January 2002), PSYCINFO (1984–January 2002), EMBASE (1980–January 2002), and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register.
- Evaluated trials examining adherence-enhancing strategies, including patient educational programs and primary care collaborative care models.
- Educational interventions failed to demonstrate a clear benefit on either antidepressant adherence or depression outcomes.
- Collaborative care interventions in primary care produced significant improvements in adherence during both acute and continuation phases of treatment.
- Collaborative care was associated with superior clinical benefit, particularly among patients with major depression receiving adequate antidepressant dosages.
Cite This Study
Vergouwen et al. (2003) studied this question.