The Guardian Australia covers latest Cochrane review on antidepressant withdrawal

'Long-term antidepressant use is on the rise around the world and all of us recognise the urgent need for evidence on safe and effective approaches for people who want to stop taking them,’ says Mieke van Driel, Emeritus Professor of General Practice at the University of Queensland. ‘As a GP myself, I see first-hand the struggles many patients have coming off antidepressants, yet we don’t know enough about how to reduce inappropriate long-term use or what the safest and most effective approaches are to help people do this.'

'Our latest Cochrane review, published today, confirms that while much is known about the increasing global uptake of antidepressant medications, there’s little high quality evidence on safe and effective approaches to stopping treatment. For example, there are over 1,000 studies looking at starting antidepressants, yet we found only 33 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) around the world that examined stopping them. It’s clear that this area needs urgent attention.’

Health reporter Melissa Daveys interviews Mieke to explore this evidence further in today’s edition of The Guardian Australia…