A quantitative analysis of clinical drug trials for the treatment of affective disorders

This article presents a metaanalysis of approximately 300 studies of drug treatment for affective disorders. Efficacy is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt in this overview from random-assignment, double-blind studies. The efficacy of maintenance antidepressants is supported by a large body of evidence. The size effect of drug versus placebo difference used to prevent recurrence of unipolar or bipolar affective disease is comparable to the size effect of drug versus placebo difference for the treatment of an acute episode.