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Antipsychotics should not be used for non-psychotic depression Therapeutics Initiative (University of British Columbia)

Description

Therapeutics Letter 95 reviews clinical evidence for use of antipsychotics for depression. Conclusions: Quetiapine has not been shown to improve overall function as monotherapy or when added to an antidepressant for unresponsive major depressive disorder. There is insufficient scientific evidence that quetiapine reduces any depression-rating scores. Quetiapine causes sedation, which improves sleep. Biased trial methodology exaggerates any apparent benefits, and minimizes disadvantages such as weight gain or other long-term harms. Adverse effects include frequent sedation, anticholinergic effects and weight gain. Long-term harms are unknown, but likely include elevated cardiovascular risk related to weight gain and metabolic changes. Evidence for other antipsychotics for depression is not better.

Item Metadata

Title
Antipsychotics should not be used for non-psychotic depression
Alternate Title
Therapeutics Letter 95
Creator
Therapeutics Initiative (University of British Columbia)
Date Issued
2015-08
Description
Therapeutics Letter 95 reviews clinical evidence for use of antipsychotics for depression. Conclusions: Quetiapine has not been shown to improve overall function as monotherapy or when added to an antidepressant for unresponsive major depressive disorder. There is insufficient scientific evidence that quetiapine reduces any depression-rating scores. Quetiapine causes sedation, which improves sleep. Biased trial methodology exaggerates any apparent benefits, and minimizes disadvantages such as weight gain or other long-term harms. Adverse effects include frequent sedation, anticholinergic effects and weight gain. Long-term harms are unknown, but likely include elevated cardiovascular risk related to weight gain and metabolic changes. Evidence for other antipsychotics for depression is not better.
Subject
Antidepressive Agents; Antipsychotic Agents; Depression; Depressive Disorder, Major; Hypnotics and Sedatives; Quetiapine Fumarate
Genre
Other
Type
Text
Language
eng
Notes
The UBC TI is funded by the BC Ministry of Health to provide evidence-based information about drug therapy. We neither formulate nor adjudicate provincial drug policies.
Date Available
2023-06-20
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0433674
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/85084
Affiliation
Medicine, Faculty of; Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Department of
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International