Effects of Antidepressants on Sleep in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: An Overview of Reviews

Curr Neuropharmacol. 2023 Aug 1. doi: 10.2174/1570159X21666230801144328. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTAntidepressants are a commonly used, easily accessible, and overall safe treatment option for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The present review aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of antidepressants in treating sleep disturbances in patients with PTSD. PubMed and the Cochrane Li- brary were searched (July 2022) for systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the treatment of PTSD. Moreover, PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched for individual trials investigating the antidepressant treatment of PTSD (up to September 2022), and reference lists of all relevant identi- fied studies were screened. Sleep-related outcomes, i.e., total sleep time, sleep quality, dreams/ nightmares, insomnia, and somnolence, were extracted independently by at least two reviewers. Meta- analytic evaluations were performed wherever possible. 39 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were identified; data from pooled analyses, reviews, and observational studies were used for antidepressants with a weak evidence base or when their findings were deemed important. Overall, scarce data exist on the effects of antidepressants on sleep outcomes among patients with PTSD. Some evidence may support the use of amitriptyline, nefazodone, paroxetine, and sertraline for improving sleep in patients with PTSD. Ξ€here was a meta-analytical trend indicating improvement of nightmares with fluoxetine, less in...
Source: Current Neuropharmacology - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Source Type: research