Scientists have warned many antidepressants given to UK chronic pain patients are being prescribed without adequate evidence of their effectiveness.
A major investigation into medications has found that despite hundreds of thousands of people being given recommended drugs to manage long-term pain, there is “no reliable evidence” for their long-term safety or reliability.
The two-year study was one of the largest-ever studies of antidepressants.
These medications are commonly recommended by bodies such as UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA.
The Cochrane review, led by scientists from several UK universities including Newcastle University and the University of Southampton, examined 176 trials consisting of nearly 30,000 patients involved in assessments that prescribed antidepressants for chronic pain….