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Clinicians who prescribe antidepressants are aware that some patients experience symptoms when they stop taking these drugs, but the frequency and severity of this phenomenon is unclear. To determine the incidence of antidepressant discontinuation symptoms, researchers conducted a meta-analysis of pooled data from 44 randomized trials and 35 observational studies of antidepressants.
The incidence of at least one discontinuation symptom was significantly higher with antidepressants than with placebo (31% vs. 17%; 14 percentage-point difference). In the subgroup of randomized trials that included both antidepressant and placebo groups, the difference was smaller (8 percentage points). The incidence of severe discontinuation symptoms was 3% wit…