Gross Misconduct — The Final Nail in the Coffin for Antidepressants

Antidepressants-Updated

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola. First published: January 30, 2024.

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

The Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study published in 2006 was the largest and longest-running antidepressant effectiveness trial ever conducted. The authors claimed an overall cumulative remission rate of 67%, and this study has since been used to prop up the idea that antidepressants work in the real world. However, a reanalysis by psychologist Ed Pigott showed that had the study protocol been followed, the cumulative remission rate would only have been 35%. Moreover, only 3% of the 4,041 patients who entered the trial and went into remission were still in remission at the end of their one-year follow-up. Most clinical drug trials have found the effectiveness of antidepressants are on par with placebo. Meanwhile, large-scale meta-analyses show that physical exercise is about 1.5 times more effective than antidepressants for depression.

Anti-depressants: Do They Work?

According to medical journalist Robert Whitaker, author of “Mad in America,” the widely-made claim that antidepressants work for nearly 7 out of 10 real-world patients is based on research misconduct and scientific fraud. “If the major media picks up on this story, they will have the chance to report on what arguably is the worst — and most harmful — scandal in American medical history,” he wrote in January 2024.

Exercise Is the Best Medicine

Physical exercise comes out on top in most studies, including when compared against antidepressant drugs. A 2023 overview of 97 systematic reviews with meta-analyses found that exercise is 1.5 times more effective than counselling or medications for depression, anxiety, and psychological distress.

IMHU.org offers an excellent course on effective alternatives to antidepressants: https://courses.imhu.org/courses/overcome-depression-effective-methods