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REDUCE: REviewing long term anti-Depressant Use by Careful monitoring in Everyday practice programme

People Involved

Project Description

There is considerable concern about increasing antidepressant use in England, as in other countries. Prescriptions have increased year on year since the early 1990s, and GPs in England are giving out more than 50 million prescriptions every year, to more than one in ten of the adult population. While some people need antidepressants to prevent them relapsing into depression, it is estimated that around half of those taking them long-term could stop without relapsing. However, stopping is not easy in many cases due to withdrawal symptoms which include anxiety and mood changes, similar to the problem for which antidepressants were prescribed in the first place, so patients often go back on to treatment quickly rather than continue to withdraw and stop treatment. Simply telling GPs and their patients to review treatment has been tried in Scotland and the Netherlands, but without success - only around 1 in 14 patients is able to stop as a result of simple review with their GP. GPs and Nurse Practitioners (NPs) who prescribe antidepressants need readily available guidance on withdrawal of antidepressants, and patients who are coming off them need readily available support. In this study we propose to try out internet-based support for both professionals and patients to help them stop treatment where this is appropriate. Our aim is to identify feasible, safe, effective, and cost-effective ways of helping patients taking long-term antidepressants withdraw from treatment where this is appropriate.

Project Acronym REDUCE
Status Project Complete
Funder(s) National Institute for Health Research
Value £251,516.00
Project Dates Oct 1, 2016 - Jun 30, 2023

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