Antidepressants versus Placebos for Depression A total of 713 depressed individuals from six different studies were given pills to treat their depression. Half were randomly assigned to receive an antidepressant medication (ADM) and half to receive a pill placebo. Importantly, the participants did not know if they were taking an antidepressant or simply a placebo. For those with mild or moderate depression, as measured by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), antidepressants did not work any better than placebo. However, those with severe depression showed much greater improvement on antidepressants than on placebo. The circle size represents the number of people with data at each point.
(From Fournier et al., 2010.)
(From Fournier et al., 2010.)