Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Appropriate duration of antidepressant medications for prevention of depressive relapse and the impact of life stage

Molecular Psychiatry (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

TO THE EDITOR:

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Relapse rates in major depression with discontinuation or maintenance of antidepressant treatment.

References

  1. Reimherr FW, Amsterdam JD, Quitkin FM, Rosenbaum JF, Fava M, Zajecka J, et al. Optimal length of continuation therapy in depression: a prospective assessment during long-term fluoxetine treatment. Am J Psychiatry. 1998;155:1247–53.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Kato M, Hori H, Inoue T, Iga J, Iwata M, Inagaki T, et al. Discontinuation of antidepressants after remission with antidepressant medication in major depressive disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Mol Psychiatry. 2021;26:118–33.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Kishi T, Sakuma K, Hatano M, Okuya M, Matsuda Y, Kato M et al. Relapse and its modifiers in major depressive disorder after antidepressant discontinuation: meta-analysis and meta-regression. Mol Psychiatry. 2022;28:974–76.

  4. Wilson K, Mottram P, Ashworth L, Abou-Saleh M. Older community residents with depression: long-term treatment with sertraline. Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Br J Psychiatry. 2003;182:492–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Keller M, Kocsis J, Thase M, Gelenberg A, Rush A, Koran L, et al. Maintenance phase efficacy of sertraline for chronic depression: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 1998;280:1665–72.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Hochstrasser B, Isaksen P, Koponen H, Lauritzen L, Mahnert F, Rouillon F, et al. Prophylactic effect of citalopram in unipolar, recurrent depression: placebo-controlled study of maintenance therapy. Br J Psychiatry. 2001;178:304–10.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Dalery J, Dagens-Lafont V, Bodinat C. Efficacy of tianeptine vs placebo in the long-term treatment (16.5 months) of unipolar major recurrent depression. Hum Psychopharmacol. 2001;16:S39–s47.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Goodwin G, Boyer P, Emsley R, Rouillon F, Bodinat C. Is it time to shift to better characterization of patients in trials assessing novel antidepressants? An example of two relapse prevention studies with agomelatine. Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 2013;28:20–28.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Kocsis J, Thase M, Trivedi M, Shelton R, Kornstein S, Nemeroff C, et al. Prevention of recurrent episodes of depression with venlafaxine ER in a 1-year maintenance phase from the PREVENT Study. J Clin Psychiat. 2007;68:1014–23.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. McGrath P, Stewart J, Quitkin F, Chen Y, Alpert J, Nierenberg A, et al. Predictors of relapse in a prospective study of fluoxetine treatment of major depression. Am J Psychiatry. 2006;163:1542–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Montgomery SA, Dunbar G. Paroxetine is better than placebo in relapse prevention and the prophylaxis of recurrent depression. Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 1993;8:189–95.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Aoki Y, Takaesu Y, Baba H, Iga JI, Hori H, Inoue T, et al. Development and acceptability of a decision aid for major depressive disorder considering discontinuation of antidepressant treatment after remission. Neuropsychopharmacol Rep. 2022;42:306–14.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kansai Medical University, Osaka, Japan

    Masaki Kato

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Hikaru Hori

  3. Department of Health Promotion and Human Behavior, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine/School of Public Health, Kyoto, Japan

    Aran Tajika

Authors
  1. Masaki Kato
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hikaru Hori
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Aran Tajika
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

MK had full access to all the data in the study and took responsibility for the integrity of the data and accuracy of the data analysis. MK, HH, and AT performed data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation. MK drafted the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Masaki Kato.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

MK has received grant funding from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, SENSHIN Medical Research Foundation, and Japan Research Foundation for Clinical Pharmacology, and speaker’s honoraria from Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Otsuka, Meiji-Seika Pharma, Eli Lilly, MSD K.K., GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Janssen Pharmaceutical, Shionogi, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Lundbeck, and Ono Pharmaceutical. AT received lecture fees from Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Eisai, Janssen Pharmaceutical, Meiji-Seika Pharma, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, Otsuka and Takeda Pharmaceutical. HH received speaker honoraria from Eisai, Eli Lilly, Janssen Pharmaceutical, Meiji-Seika Pharma, Otsuka, Pfizer, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, and Takeda Pharmaceutical.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kato, M., Hori, H. & Tajika, A. Appropriate duration of antidepressant medications for prevention of depressive relapse and the impact of life stage. Mol Psychiatry (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-023-02023-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-023-02023-0

Search

Advanced search

Quick links