Our systematic review in BMC Psychiatry concluded that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) compared with placebo significantly increase the risk of serious adverse events ( SAEs ) in patients with major depression and the potential beneficial effects of SSRIs seem to be outweighed by the harms .
In their post-hoc analysis of our data , they reported that SSRIs only increase the risk of SAEs in elderly and seems safe for non-elderly patients .
Escitalopram (10–20 mg/day) is effective and well tolerated in a placebo‐controlled study in depression in primary care
& NA ; Escitalopram was compared to placebo in moderately to severely depressed patients in primary care with citalopram as the active reference . Patients were r and omized to receive flexible doses of 10–20 mg/day escitalopram ( n=155 ) , 20–40 mg/day citalopram ( n=160 ) , or placebo ( n=154 ) over an 8‐week double‐blind period . The primary efficacy parameter was the change from baseline to last assessment in the Montgomery – Asberg Depression Rating Scale total score . Escitalopram produced a statistically significant therapeutic difference of 2.9 points ( P=0.002 ) compared to placebo , and escitalopram was consistently and statistically significantly more efficacious than placebo from week 1 onwards . Analysis of Clinical Global Impression – Severity and Clinical Global Impression – Improvement confirmed the primary efficacy results . By week 8 , significantly more patients had responded to treatment with escitalopram than with citalopram ( P=0.021 ) or placebo ( P=0.009 ) . Escitalopram was as well tolerated as citalopram and had a similar adverse event profile . Both escitalopram‐ and citalopram‐treated patients had  placebo‐level adverse event withdrawal rates ( 3 % and 4 % , respectively ) . This study demonstrates the consistent antidepressant efficacy and excellent tolerability  of escitalopram 10–20 mg/day in primary care patients with major depressive disorder
Our systematic review in BMC Psychiatry concluded that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) compared with placebo significantly increase the risk of serious adverse events ( SAEs ) in patients with major depression and the potential beneficial effects of SSRIs seem to be outweighed by the harms .
In their post-hoc analysis of our data , they reported that SSRIs only increase the risk of SAEs in elderly and seems safe for non-elderly patients .