Meta-Analysis: 1 in 7 People Have Symptoms After Stopping Antidepressants

Roughly one-third of patients experienced symptoms such as headaches, nausea, insomnia, and irritability after discontinuing their use of antidepressants, according to an analysis of 79 studies involving more than 21 000 participants. The symptoms were attributable to patient expectations about the adverse effects of stopping the drug in about 17% of participants. After accounting for this, roughly 1 in 7 people had antidepressant discontinuation symptoms, the researchers reported in The Lancet Psychiatry. Whether the drug was tapered or stopped abruptly made no difference in the proportion of people who experienced discontinuation symptoms.