Individuals on antidepressants 'more likely to relapse'

Individuals with depression, likely to use home care or assisted living, could be more likely to experience a relapse if they take medication for the condition, research has indicated.

According to the study, published in journal Frontiers of Psychology, those who take and then stop taking antidepressants have a 42 per cent or higher risk of relapse.

In comparison, people with depression who do not take any medication have just a 25 per cent chance of becoming depressed again.

Paul Andrews, study leader, explained that anti-depressants interfere with the brain's natural self-regulation of neurotransmitters, sometimes causing it to overcorrect once the medication is stopped - potentially triggering a new wave of depression.

"All these drugs do reduce symptoms, probably to some degree, in the short-term. The trick is what happens in the long term. Our results suggest that when you try to go off the drugs, depression will bounce back," he said.

In other news, a study published in journal Biological Psychiatry has suggested that a smaller hippocampal volume in the brain is a result of depression rather than a cause.

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