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Only in the most extreme

depression did the tablets,

which are taken by around two

million Britons and have been

linked to a host of side effects

including suicide,

prove substantially superior in

improving mental health.

Dr Tim Kendall,

of the Royal College of Psychiatrists,

described the results as

“fantastically important”.

He added that one of the study’s

strengths lay in the inclusion of data

which drug companies had chosen

not to publicise –

perhaps because it was less

favourable than they would like.

.

.

The study, published in the respected

journal PLoS Medicine, suggests

hundreds of thousands of Britons

are needlessly taking powerful –

and potentially dangerous –

drugs.

As well as suicide and

suicidal thoughts,

side-effects associated with the

drugs studied and other SSRI

(Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor)

anti-depressants range from

self harm to anxiety,

insomnia,

nausea,

headaches and vomiting.

.

.

Seroxat alone has been linked

to at least 50 suicides –

both adult and child –

in the UK since 1990.

.

.

The research comes as prescriptions

for anti-depressants are at record levels,

with 31million written in 2006 at a

cost to the NHS of almost £300million.

Around half of these were for Prozac,

Seroxat, Efexor and other SSRIs.

Researcher Professor Irving Kirsch said:

“Given these data, there seems little

evidence to support the prescription

of anti-depressant medication to any

but the most severely depressed

patients,

unless alternative treatments

have failed to provide benefit.”