A federal government review of 293 published studies of SSRIs and SNRIs in adults found that about six in 10 patients get some relief from the drugs, and that six in 10 also experience at least one side effect, ranging from nausea to sexual dysfunction.

Some other key conclusions from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Patients who don’t respond to one of the drugs often try another medication within the same class. About one in four of those patients recover. Overall, current evidence is insufficient to predict which drugs will work best for individual patients.

“Second-generation antidepressants provide hope for many of the millions of Americans who struggle with depression,” said AHRQ’s director, Carolyn Clancy. “But often trying to find the right drug is trial and error, and in many cases relief is temporary or comes with serious side effects. It’s clear we need more evidence to help patients and their doctors make the best choices.”

This can be construed as depressing news for drugmakers: These are the sorts of results that are likely to provide ammunition to industry critics, who say antidepressants shouldn’t be prescribed - and promoted - aggressively.