Comparative efficacy and acceptability of 21 antidepressant drugs for the acute treatment of adults with major…
Worth asking your prescriber how venlafaxine's slightly stronger effect stacks up against its higher dropout rate for you, and what the plan is if side effects make it hard to stay on.
Top of the evidence hierarchy, independently funded. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: Publicly funded (NIHR/JSPS), but several coauthors disclosed lecture or consultancy fees from drug manufacturers, including Pfizer.
Across 522 randomized trials (116,477 participants), every antidepressant including venlafaxine beat placebo for acute depression, and in head-to-head trials venlafaxine was among the more effective drugs (odds ratios 1.19-1.96) but also had among the highest dropout rates (odds ratios 1.30-2.32).
Worth asking
Worth asking your prescriber how venlafaxine's slightly stronger effect stacks up against its higher dropout rate for you, and what the plan is if side effects make it hard to stay on.
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
- Generalized anxiety disorder (extended-release only)
- Social anxiety disorder (extended-release only)
- Panic disorder (extended-release only)
Source
Comparative efficacy and acceptability of 21 antidepressant drugs for the acute treatment of adults with major depressive disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis — Cipriani A, et al. (2018)
Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32802-7
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32802-7
How this was scored
- Study design
- Meta-analysis of randomised trials
- Funding
- Independently funded
- Published in
- Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 116,477
- Preregistered
- Yes
- Conflicts disclosed
- Yes
- 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 100 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: Publicly funded (NIHR/JSPS), but several coauthors disclosed lecture or consultancy fees from drug manufacturers, including Pfizer. 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?
Comparative efficacy and acceptability of 21 antidepressant drugs for the acute treatment of adults with major depressive disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis — Cipriani A, et al. (2018). Published in: Top-tier peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32802-7. 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: Meta-analysis of randomised trials. 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 venlafaxine (Effexor), effexor FDA approved?
Yes — FDA approved for Major depressive disorder, Generalized anxiety disorder (extended-release only), Social anxiety disorder (extended-release only), Panic disorder (extended-release only). 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.