Interpreting Antidepressant Clinical Trials

Norman Sussman MD

pages: 215 - 220

• DOI: 10.1080/10401230701653179
• Version of record first published: 21Nov2007

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Abstract:

Background. Psychiatrists and other clinicians make decisions about antidepressant medications with little understanding on how to interpret the research literature.

Methods. Pertinent clinical literature is reviewed.

Results. The author reviews levels of evidence, study design, statistical significance, p values, defining outcomes, drop outs, and basic analytic strategies such as last observation carried forward and mixed-effects model repeated measures. Several recent clinical trials are dissected to illustrate these concepts.

Conclusions . Clinicians need to develop greater sophistication at interpreting research findings. No single study is definitive, and comparative antidepressant trials suffer from low statistical power.