Psychiatry researchers claim the risks of antidepressant withdrawal are overblown after their JAMA Psychiatry study concluded the average patient did not have clinically significant symptoms.

The British team suggest that, by focusing on the risks of deprescribing, doctors and journalists may have created a ‘nocebo’ effect, where patients report more side effects because they expect them.

However, advocates for cautious antidepressant deprescribing claim the review and meta-analysis rely too much on short-term studies.

Published last Wednesday, the review covered 50 studies but focused on 11 in particular, mostly involving patients who used antidepressants for 8-12 weeks.