Times to Discontinue Antidepressants Over 6 Months in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate differences in discontinuation time among antidepressants and total antidepressant discontinuation rate of patients with depression over a 6 month period in a naturalistic treatment setting.

Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 900 patients with major depressive disorder who were initially prescribed only one kind of antidepressant. The prescribed antidepressants and the reasons for discontinuation were surveyed at baseline and every 4 weeks during the 24 week study. We investigated the discontinuation rate and the mean time to discontinuation among six antidepressants groups.

Results: Mean and median overall discontinuation times were 13.8 and 12 weeks, respectively. Sertraline and escitalopram had longer discontinuation times than that of fluoxetine, and patients who used sertraline discontinued use significantly later than those taking mirtazapine. No differences in discontinuation rate were observed after 24 weeks among these antidepressants. About 73% of patients discontinued antidepressant treatment after 24 weeks.

Conclusion: Sertraline and escitalopram tended to have longer mean times to discontinuation, although no difference in discontinuation rate was detected between antidepressants after 24 weeks. About three-quarters of patients discontinued antidepressant maintenance therapy after 24 weeks.

Keywords: Antidepressant; Discontinuation; Escitalopram; Major depressive disorder; Sertraline.