An important factor to consider in the interpretation of our findings is the medication dose. There is considerable interindividual variation in terms of most effective dose. In general, we found no substantial differences in either efficacy or tolerability across the various medications when the maximum dose allowed was the dose defined by the FDA or by guidelines (suggesting in general higher maximum doses than the FDA). We excluded some studies9, 46, 47 because they included doses higher than those recommended in available guidelines, thus poorly reflecting common clinical practice. It is possible that inclusion of these studies would have changed the efficacy and tolerability results.
