The researchers say their findings, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, can help doctors and patients to make an informed decision together on whether or not to stop their antidepressants after recovery from a depressive episode.
The study is the first publication from a large discontinuation trial of people taking antidepressants for multiple years in primary care.
Lead author Dr Gemma Lewis (UCL Psychiatry) said: “Prescriptions of antidepressants have increased dramatically over recent decades as people are now staying on antidepressants for much longer. Until now we didn’t know whether antidepressant treatment was still effective when someone has been taking them for many years.