Antidepressant medications and other treatments of depressive disorders: a CINP Task Force report based on a review of evidence

According to the World Health Organization, depression is one of the most debilitating disorders affecting humankind. The social and economic costs of chronic ill health resulting from untreated or inadequately treated depression are considerable and frequently underestimated. The CINP established the Task Force on Antidepressant Medications in 2004 to examine all aspects of therapy with antidepressant drugs. This was considered necessary as, despite the availability of effective antidepressants for the past 50 years, a substantial minority of depressed patients either remains untreated or under treated. As the only international organization devoted to the promotion of research, education and the applications of neuropsychopharmacology to the clinic, the main task of the CINP is to extend the knowledge of the drugs that are available with the aim of improving the management of mental disorders. The purpose of this Task Force document was not to produce an academic monograph nor a set of guidelines, but to provide mental health and other professionals with comprehensive and objective information about the different aspects of the use of antidepressants important in clinical practice. The Task Force consisted of 15 experts in psychiatry, psychopharmacology, public health, economics and family care. The majority of its members are senior members of the CINP. The Task Force was also advised to rely in the course of its work on advisors in different countries selected because of their outstanding expertise in the matters covered by the review. The report presented here was approved by the Executive Committee and the Council of the CINP at its meeting in Chicago in July 2006. As a service to those engaged in mental health care and to ensure maximum impact, the Task Force review is being published as a supplement to the CINP's journal, the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. In addition, the information will later …