Antidepressants can help adults with major depression

André Tomlin reports on a new network meta-analysis that brings together the best available evidence comparing the efficacy and acceptability of 21 antidepressants for the acute treatment of adults with major depressive disorder.

This groundbreaking review of 522 trials is the largest ever meta-analysis in psychiatry, and finds that antidepressants are more effective than placebo for short-term treatment of acute depression in adults.