Do Antidepressants Work?

August 27, 2014

(Scientific American) – According to the Mayo Clinic, about 13% of Americans—more than 1 in 10—take an antidepressant. Of women between the ages of 50 and 64, nearly 1 in 4 take an antidepressant.  Second only to antibiotics, antidepressants are the most commonly prescribed class of medication. To clarify, when I say antidepressant, I mean the most common of many classes of antidepressants—the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, like Prozac, Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, or Zoloft.  They’re safer and cause fewer side effects than other, older types of antidepressants.