Predicting the Outcome of Antidepressants

Predicting the Outcome of Antidepressants and Psychotherapy for Depression: A Qualitative, Systematic Review
Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 03/17/09

Van HL et al. - The relation between severity of depression and outcome appeared to be complex, precluding any straightforward inferences. Methods

  • Overview of the consistency of findings on the association between sociodemographic factors and depression characteristics.
  • Outcomes of pharmacotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and interpersonal/psychodynamic psychotherapy for major depression.
Results
  • No findings indicating that gender was associated with treatment outcome in the case of tricyclic antidepressants.
  • Some indications that younger patients respond worse to tricyclics, whereas especially women appeared to have better outcomes with modern antidepressants (selective serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors).
  • Marital status may be related to better outcome in the case of antidepressants and cognitive-behavioral therapy.
  • Longer duration of depression was identified as a negative predictor, most consistently in psychotherapy.
  • In none of the treatment modalities was recurrence a negative predictor.

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