Symptom counts hide withdrawal severity

Updated: 2026.01.05 24D ago 3 sources
The new JAMA Psychiatry review finds only about one extra discontinuation symptom after stopping antidepressants, but it relies on DESS, a checklist that assigns one point per symptom and does not rate how bad it is. A small increase in symptom counts can still mask highly disabling cases that matter most for patients and policy. Treating this as 'reassuring' risks complacency about tapering and support. — If measurement tools undercount severity, guidelines, media, and insurers may misjudge withdrawal risks and undermine safe deprescribing practices.

Sources

Antidepressant withdrawal – the tide is finally turning - PMC
2026.01.05 82% relevant
The piece highlights that withdrawal is often severe and prolonged — a substantive critique of minimalist symptom‑count measures — aligning with the existing idea that checklist counts understate functional severity and duration and thus mislead clinicians, regulators, and the public.
What I have learnt from helping thousands of people taper off antidepressants and other psychotropic medications - PMC
2026.01.05 80% relevant
The paper emphasizes that simple checklist counts understate the disabling depth and protracted nature of withdrawal—matching the existing concern that measurement tools (one‑point per symptom) can mask severity and therefore mislead clinicians and policymakers.
Playing Whack-a-Mole With the Uncertainties of Antidepressant Withdrawal
2025.10.07 100% relevant
The paper’s Supplementary Materials state DESS does not grade severity; Aftab cautions against drawing safety conclusions from a +1 DESS finding in Kalfas et al. (JAMA Psychiatry, 2025).
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