Antidepressants exit must happen in stages, says NICE

As reported by the BBC, reducing an antidepressant dose should be done in stages, with help from a medical professional, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

It says this helps manage withdrawal symptoms that can occur from the drugs. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published new information that sets out how mental health care can be improved in England and Wales.

A committee of experts says community care services should work with patients to agree a treatment plan. This includes assessing whether it is right for them to come off their medication and over what time period withdrawal should take place.

Another suggestion is that extra attention should be paid to adults from minority ethnic backgrounds who have depression.

It comes after NHS Digital data from 2021 showed that 57% of people from mixed, Black, Black British, Asian or Asian British family backgrounds completed a course of treatment for depression compared with 64% of people from a white family background.

The suggestion is that mental health services should be delivered in a way that is culturally appropriate and that language barriers are also removed.

According to the NHS, antidepressant prescriptions reached an all-time high in 2022, with 8.3m people taking them in England.

Statistics also show about one in six adults aged 16 or over in the UK experienced some form of depression in the summer of 2021, with the rate remaining higher than before the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns.

The recommendations are in addition to pre-existing ones on managing depression in adults, which were last updated in November 2021.

NICE suggested then that people with mild depression should be offered behavioural therapy or group exercise before medication is discussed.

Dr Paul Chrisp, who is in charge of NICE guidelines, said: “In many cases, people experience withdrawal symptoms, and the length of time it takes them to safely come off these drugs can vary, which is why our committee’s useful and useable statement for a staged withdrawal over time from these drugs is to be welcomed.