Millions of Americans take antidepressants to combat low moods. But a large, new study suggests that these medications over time may do little to improve overall quality of life.
“We found the change in health-related quality of life to be comparable or similar between patients that used antidepressant medications and those who did not use them,” said study lead author Omar Almohammed, an assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia.
The researchers were “surprised by the results,” he admitted.
However, “we are not saying that [antidepressants] are not helpful at all,” Almohammed noted. Quality of life, he emphasized, is only one of many measures intended to assess health outcomes.
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