How Well Do Antidepressants Work? Published On March 30, 2018 Social Media Share this article Facebook Twitter LinkedIn If you look at the advertising for antidepressants, you could conclude that antidepressants work well. However, a study recently reported a large meta-analysis that looked at the effectiveness of 21 antidepressants. The analysis did show that all of the antidepressants performed better than placebos, but unfortunately the effect sizes were not very large for any of the medications. Additionally, most of the benefit was seen in participants taking the medication for short-term depression. More research is needed to target specific antidepressants to each individual’s needs instead of prescribing the same medication to everyone.
