Antidepressants might work for people with major depression: where do we go from here?

The publication of our updated network meta-analysis 1 Cipriani A Furukawa TA Salanti G et al. Comparative efficacy and acceptability of 21 antidepressant drugs for the acute treatment of adults with major depressive disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Lancet. 2018; (published online Feb 20.)https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32802-7 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (1335) Google Scholar about antidepressants for the acute treatment of major depression has generated a wide discussion in newspapers, 2 Carroll AE Do antidepressants work? The most comprehensive study on them has recently been published, showing mostly modest effects. The New York Times (New York, NY). March 12, 2018; (accessed March 28, 2018).https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/12/upshot/do-antidepressants-work.html Google Scholar , 3 Boseley S The drugs do work: antidepressants are effective, study shows. The Guardian (London). Feb 21, 2018; (accessed March 28, 2018).https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/feb/21/the-drugs-do-work-antidepressants-are-effective-study-shows Google Scholar social media, 4 Tomlin A Antidepressants can help adults with major depression. The Mental Elf. https://www.nationalelfservice.net/treatment/antidepressants/antidepressants-can-help-adults-with-major-depression/Date: Feb 22, 2018 Google Scholar and scientific journals. 5 McCormack J Korownyk C Effectiveness of antidepressants. BMJ. 2018; 360: k1073 Crossref PubMed Scopus (24) Google Scholar Based on 522 trials and more than 116 000 patients, this network meta-analysis of 21 drugs and placebo represents the most comprehensive analysis of the evidence base ever undertaken. We take the opportunity of this Comment not to repeat our findings but to reflect on the implications of this research and, most importantly, on what needs to be done next to improve the outcome of patients with major depression.