Adding Fluoxetine to CBT May Not Further Reduce Depressive Symptoms in Youth With MDD

A combination therapy of fluoxetine and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is not superior to CBT alone for treating teens and young adults with major depression, according to astudy published inLancet Psychiatry.“[W]e did not find evidence that adding fluoxetine to CBT was beneficial for reducing depressive symptoms,” wrote Christopher Davey, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., of Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health in Australia, and colleagues. “Our results show that adding fluoxetine to CB T might be more effective for treating anxiety symptoms than for depressive symptoms.”Davey and colleagues conducted a 12-week randomized trial involving 153 participants aged 15 to 25 with moderate-to-severe major depression (score of 20 or higher on the Montgomery- Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, or MADRS). All participants received weekly 50-minute CBT sessions as well as daily fluoxetine (up to 40 mg/day) or placebo pills. The researchers evaluated the participants’ depressive and anxiety symptoms, social functioning, quality of life, and suicidal thought s every four weeks.After 12 weeks, there was no statistical difference between the two study groups in terms of depression symptoms; MADRS scores decreased by 15.1 points among patients receiving CBT plus fluoxetine and 13.7 points among patients receiving CBT plus placebo. However, participants in the fluoxetine group showed statistically significant improvements in anxiety symptoms, as measured by the Generali...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: anxiety Benedetto Vitiello Christopher Davey depression fluoxetine GAD-7 Lancet Psychiatry MADRS MDD nonsuicidal self-injury suicide teens young adults Source Type: research