The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the statements reported in the media and a few articles in the literature about widespread overtreatment with antidepressants were true. Therefore, we wanted to assess to what extent the use of antidepressants is in accordance with the Dutch primary care guideline for depression as well as for anxiety disorders,Lambrolizumab with a focus on overtreatment. For depressive disorders the depression guideline recommends the use of an antidepressant during six months after response for a first episode of MDD as one of the first step treatment options, although dependent on the degree of suffering or dysfunction. As dysfunction is a criterion for the diagnosis of MDD and patients consulted their physician, we assumed that probably most had at least some degree of suffering or dysfunction. Therefore, Etanercept we considered treatment with antidepressants justified when a respondent had suffered an episode of MDD in the past year. In case of recurrent or chronic MDD the guideline recommends one to five years of maintenance treatment, with the option for longer in patients with previous recurrences after withdrawal of antidepressants. Therefore, treatment of chronic or recurrent MDD for up to two years was considered justified, all treatment longer than two years was considered possibly justified. In case of dysthymia an antidepressant is mentioned in the depression guideline as second step option and therefore considered possibly justified. Antidepressants were not considered justified for depressive states not fulfilling criteria for MDD or dysthymia. As antidepressants are also registered for the treatment of anxiety disorders, we also considered treatment with antidepressants justified in case the guideline recommendations from the anxiety disorder guideline were followed. This guideline recommends treatment with an antidepressant in case of the presence of an anxiety disorder in the last year, with the option to continue the treatment for a longer period. Descriptive statistics and frequencies were used to describe the use of AD and psychological treatment.