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Figure 1

From: Low predictive power of clinical features for relapse prediction after antidepressant discontinuation in a naturalistic setting

Figure 1

Study design: we recruited remitted, medicated patients on antidepressant medication (ADM) and matched healthy controls (HC). They were assessed and compared at main assessment 1 (MA1) to identify traits characterising the remitted, medicated state. Next, patients were randomised to either discontinue their medication before MA2 (bottom arm, “discontinuation group” or enter a waiting period while continuing their ADM matched to the length of discontinuation time (top arm, “waiting group”). Differences in changes between MA1 and MA2 in the two separate groups were investigated to gain an understanding of the effects underlying discontinuation. Patients in the waiting group discontinued their ADM after MA2. After discontinuation, all patients entered the follow-up (FU) period of 6 months, whereas some patients had a relapse during this period and some patients finished this period without relapse. Differences in characteristics at MA1 of patients who relapsed and patients who did not relapse during FU provide information on which variables relates to relapse risk and can be used to identify predictors of relapse after ADM discontinuation.

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