Initial Severity and Antidepressant Efficacy for Anxiety Disorders: an Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis
Status:
Unknown status
Trial end date:
2016-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Anxiety disorders are common disorders, which pose a major burden to society and the
individual. An anxiety disorder may be treated with medication, in particular with
antidepressants such as the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). However, much of
what is known about antidepressants is derived from research in depression rather than
anxiety. In recent years, researchers have found that antidepressants are more effective for
severely depressed patients than they are for patients with milder symptoms. It is possible
that a similar relationship between symptom severity and antidepressant efficacy exists for
anxiety disorders, but there is currently little evidence available to answer this question.
As antidepressants are frequently prescribed to patients with mild or moderate anxiety, a
clear understanding of their effectiveness across the severity range is vital to inform
treatment decisions. Therefore, the purpose of this meta-analysis is to examine whether
initial symptom severity affects antidepressant efficacy for anxiety disorders.