Report urges Aussie doctors to scale back prescription of antidepressants

Australians are being over-prescribed for antidepressant medication, researchers have revealed, after a report found the pills being given to one in 10 Australians were only marginally more effective than a placebo.

Ten percent of the Australian adult population is currently prescribed antidepressants, while a rising number of teenagers and children are also taking the medication, but researchers are concerned the drugs' effectiveness is not as profound as first thought.

Dr Christopher Davey from the Orygen Youth Health Research Centre said in up to 40 percent of cases, the drugs were proving "ineffective", and said taking a placebo would have a similar effect.

He called on doctors to only prescribe antidepressants to those who have already tried psychotherapy or those who suffer from "moderately severe" depression.

"The medications are modestly effective," Davey told the Huffington Post Australia on Monday.

"They still are more effective than taking a placebo pill but the gap isn't that large.

"The main argument we wanted to make was that antidepressants shouldn't be the only treatment people consider for depression."

Davey's report, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, said the nature of the antidepressant medication is to restore the chemical balance, but "patients with depressive symptoms... tend to recover over time irrespective of treatment."

Davey said he hopes the report would serve to put perspective into the use of antidepressants, and urged doctors to refrain from prescribing unnecessary medication on a whim.

"We want to de-emphasize medication because it seems to be too much the main focus for treatments," Davey said.

The report also showed that, in children, just one in 10 young people see a beneficial response from antidepressants, while one in 100 will experience a negative response - such as suicidal thoughts. Endit