Maintenance or Discontinuation of Antidepressants in Primary Care
If I ever want to stop sertraline, this trial showed a real relapse risk - what taper plan and check-ins would you want in place first?
Top of the evidence hierarchy, independently funded. how we score evidence
Among 478 primary-care patients who felt well enough to stop long-term antidepressants (including sertraline 100 mg), 56% of those randomised to stop relapsed within a year versus 39% of those who stayed on their medication.
Worth asking
If I ever want to stop sertraline, this trial showed a real relapse risk - what taper plan and check-ins would you want in place first?
What it is FDA approved for
Read off the label. Trial duration and approval year are shown only where they were recorded — never inferred.
- Major depressive disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (adults and pediatric patients 6-17 years)
- Panic disorder
- Posttraumatic stress disorder
- Social anxiety disorder
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
Source
Maintenance or Discontinuation of Antidepressants in Primary Care — Lewis G, et al. (2021)
Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2106356
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2106356
How this was scored
- Study design
- Randomised controlled trial
- Funding
- Independently funded
- Published in
- Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 478
- Preregistered
- Yes
- Conflicts disclosed
- No
- Independent of proponent
- Yes
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "gold standard". Top of the evidence hierarchy, independently funded. It scores 87 out of 100 on our published rubric. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Maintenance or Discontinuation of Antidepressants in Primary Care — Lewis G, et al. (2021). Published in: Top-tier peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2106356. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Randomised controlled trial. Funding: Independently funded. The researchers were independent of whoever benefits from the result. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is sertraline (Zoloft), zoloft FDA approved?
Yes — FDA approved for Major depressive disorder, Obsessive-compulsive disorder (adults and pediatric patients 6-17 years), Panic disorder, Posttraumatic stress disorder, Social anxiety disorder, Premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Approval is for a specific indication, not for everything the drug is prescribed for.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.