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Adults taking antidepressants should be weaned off their medication ‘in stages’, according to new guidance from the National Institute of Care Excellence (NICE).
Research shows that reducing the dose in stages, known as ‘tapering’, is believed to reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms and the likelihood of patients becoming dependent on the drug.
However, NICE stress that there is no “one-size fits all approach” and clinicians must work with the individual to agree a way in which it can work and side effects can be safely managed.
Record numbers of people taking antidepressants
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), roughly one in six adults aged 16 and over experienced depression in 2021, and in 2021/22, the number of antidepressant prescriptions rose to 83.4 million, up by roughly a third (61.9 million) compared to 2015/16.
With such a high number of people taking the medication, the committee want to be sure the right guidance is in place to support people who want to come off the drug.
The guidance states that withdrawal symptoms need to be resolved (or at least be ‘tolerable’) until the next dose reduction is made.
“In many cases people experience withdrawal symptoms, and the length in time it takes them to safely come off these drugs can vary, which is why our committee’s useful and useable statement for a staged-withdrawal over time from these drugs is to be welcomed,” explains Dr Paul Chrisp, director of the Centre for Guidelines at NICE.
Adults with depression from minority ethnic backgrounds less likely to take antidepressants
The committee has also recommended adults with depression from minority ethnic backgrounds are supported to access mental health services.
The recommendation comes after research found that adults from minority ethnic backgrounds are less likely to access mental health services than the general population.
Indeed, just 57% of people from mixed Black, Black British, Asian or Asian British family backgrounds complete a course of treatment for depression compared with 64% of people from a white background.
Dr Chrisp said: It is clear from the data that there is a disproportionate number of adults from a minority ethnic family background who are not completing treatment via IAPT services.
“As a healthcare system we need to look for innovative ways to help people from these family backgrounds to get the help and support they need which is culturally appropriate to them.
“I hope that our statement will help ensure adults with depression from minority ethnic family backgrounds are supported to access mental health services and tackle this avoidable health inequality issue.”